The Jeunes Talents 2017 restaurants (1/3)

Koji Higaki - L' Inconnu (Paris 7)

After five years at Passage 53 alongside Shinichi Sato, Koji Higaki changes banks and dives into L'Inconnu. For the customer, there's no risk except that of discovery and a pleasant surprise: clean cooking, delicate flavors and haute couture cuisine without a single thread sticking out: carpaccio de saint-jacques gelée de pomme verte granité mascarpone, cabillaud rôti chou et coques, grenadin de veau salsifis épinards crème carbonara, to show that all cultures have been assimilated. Only the decor can be improved (but it's true that we've had a bit of a rough ride). The cellar, by choice, is exclusively Italian, as is the accompanying bread, focaccia.

Restaurant L'Inconnu

4 Pierre Leroux, 75007 ParisReadour review

Ippei Uemura - Tabi no Yume (Marseille 8)

This won't be the last time we tell you about Ippei Uemura, named "Jeune Talent G&M 2017". This young Japanese chef, who spent a few years teaching his country's culinary culture before opening his restaurant in a remote neighborhood, is so demanding of the product and so refined in his compositions that he looks like a UFO from the rising sun in the Provencal sky. A tomato water with Japanese sea urchin, dashi and kombu, a sashimi remarkable for its shinkejime technique (the live fish is simply put to sleep, an even gentler variant than ikejime), sushi as e(here it's the perfectly prepared koshi-hikari rice that comes into play) and, for a cook who's not a pastry chef, excellent Japanese-themed desserts (strawberry azuki, matcha jelly...)...).

Tabi No Yume

1 bd Sainte-Anne 13008 Marseille Read our review

Cyril Garcia, Arthur Lahmy and Pierre Quatrefages - Ånga (Montpellier)

@restaurantanga -

Zlatan in Montpellier? No, not exactly, though. Anga means "steam" in Swedish, an allusion to a Swedish cooking method and oven adopted by this fine young team who are already attracting a lot of votes, right in the heart of the old town. Fortunately, the small premises also boast a terrace, and after just a few months in business, the restaurant is already selling out. Cyril, Arthur and Pierre play on naturalness, well-paired and well-accommodated local produce, and a wine selection that holds up well. Desserts are just a hair below par, but the sardine tomato basil and the lamb Thai curry with green beans, coconuts and broccoli smell like the city bistronomy we've come to expect. A first strong hat and a lot of promise.

Ånga

19 rue du Palais du Guilhem 34000 Montpellier Read our review

Antoine Vernouillet - Poulpette (Cognac)

Cognac was in dire need of an address like this one, both young and unbridled, modern and unpretentious. A fine selection of products, including octopus, bonotte, salicorne and wild asparagus, a delicious lunchtime menu, and dishes that you don't usually come across, such as an estolike a Gensac sturgeon with tomato tapées, raw cabbage and squid ink broth, which proves that Antoine Vernouillet really does have great ideas. Relaxed atmosphere, great news for Cognac.

Poulpette

46 av de Lattre-de-Tassigny 16100 Cognac Read our review

Noël Baudrand - Le Relais 50 (Marseille 2)

Ambition is always on the rise in this house so well placed on the port, draining an almost uninterrupted stream of tourists. After Emmanuel Perrodin, Noël Baudrand, ex Bras Ducasse Portos - he was second in command at Saint-James - takes over with authority. The menu is a blend of seduction and Mediterranean flavors: squid like a tielle, à la sétoise (a real delicacy), roasted scallops in a velvety Jerusalem artichoke of Jerusalem artichoke, chorizo vinaigrette, confit pork belly with Séchouan pepper tomato caramel, not forgetting the house classics, rock fish, fillet of beef and risotto of the moment; service in good order, prompt and efficient, cellar adapted. One point and one toque more.

Le Relais 50

20 quai du Port 13002 Marseille Read our review

Nicolas Mouroux - 1er Mets (Annecy)

This is Annecy's pleasant surprise of the season. Gaelle and Nicolas Mouroux met at La Charme and extended their lease with Laurent Petit at Le Clos des Sens, Nicolas then becoming head chef at Le Contresens. Their installation, in an attractive contemporary setting in the heart of town, has been a success. Nicolas's cuisine is precise, still cautious, but marked by technical mastery: snail mitonnée with parsley emulsion, skrei with coriander pesto and chickpea coulis, guinea fowl supreme with combava butter and ginger, before cheeses from Gay's in a promising first menu at €31. A first toque and high hopes.

1er Mets

2, place Saint-Maurice 74000 Annecy Read our review

Tristan Robreau - Le Lièvre Gourmand (Orléans)

@PhillipeDureuil

A fine establishment, a young, dynamic team, interesting cuisine in a refined setting that's not overloaded: Le Lièvre d'Orléans, the former successor to Le Lièvre in Vailly sur Sauldre, is still elegantly run by chef Tristan Robreau. You adjust the budget according to the number of dishes and leave it to the chef: the plate is fair, well turned out and always interesting: cooked and raw salmon with wasabi avocado and Japanese precision, asparagus with egg-cream mayonnaise and watercress for a real regional treat, turbot with peas and stuffed chorizo clam, guinea fowl tandoori style with raita and mint for a well-controlled exoticism. A very convincing ensemble that this year has been awarded three toques. Impeccable service and good personal cellar selection.

Le Lièvre Gourmand

28 quai du Chatelet 45000 Orléans Read our review

Erwan Merdrignac - 24 Le Restaurant (Paris 8)

They work hard, they have energy and enthusiasm. Hakim Seghaier and Erwan Merdrignac could be described as two youngsters throwing themselves into the deep end, but the project has taken a long time to mature, and both have solid experience of top restaurants: Hakim at Taillevent, Erwan at Alléno and Orieux, the former in the dining room, the latter in the kitchen. The place is attractive, beautifully decorated, and combines refined, tasty dishes, already deserving two toques: beautiful starters of cuttlefish and zucchini in risetto Andalini (Gaël Orieux's favorite brand, isn't it?), lean meat and artichokes à la grecque (the ham doesn't add much) and a good baba for dessert, with mango compote and passion fruit coulis.

24 Le Restaurant

24 rue Jean Mermoz 75008 Paris Read our review

Coline Faulquier - La Pergola (Marseille 2)

@colinefaulquier -

"Seen on TV"! For Coline Faulquier, a finalist in the last season of Top Chef, the media effect is breathtaking. In an out-of-the-way neighborhood with no real commercial activity, she and Julien Costa had the "luxury" of taking over a former billiards workshop in a backyard with no visible signage. And the people of Marseilles are clearly flocking to it! The large, uncluttered dining room successfully combines steel and wrought iron. The view of the glassed-in kitchens adds a touch of warmth to the whole. The only complaint is the room's "echo chamber" effect when full. Every day, Coline improvises a menu based as closely as possible on the market, with several different formulas (for example, a starter + fish + meat + dessert for 37€!). A winning risk-taking approach that's to be applauded: light pea velouté, perfect egg and comté toast; tuna a la plancha, baked ratte and sage; roast poultry, wild rice with condiments, herb yoghurt; strawberry and orange pannequet...

La Pergola

173 chemin de la Madrague Ville 13002 Marseille Read our review

Raphaël Rego - Maloka (Paris 9)

Raphaël Rego, the Brazilian chef who brought Tupi Guarani culture to the heart of Paris, has renamed his Oka (Maloka stands for "common house"), taking advantage of the opportunity to refresh himself in a highly successful New York colonial style. Like the dishes, always surprising, uplifting and well-traveled; excellent products, superb feijoada revisited. A new Oka is due to open at the end of the year, still in a Parisian setting.

Maloka

28 rue de la Tour d'Auvergne 75009 Paris Read our review

To find the restos of the Jeunes talents 2017 part 2, it's here.

Texts: Guide France 2017.