Septime (English)

Notable among the new generation of Paris restaurants which represent the reinvigoration of French cuisine are Septime and its siblings—Le Cave and Clamato—along with their countryside cousin D'une Ile, two hours to the southwest in Le Perche.

With Bertrand Grebaut as chef, and Theophile Pourriat running the fronts of the houses, the restaurants, each with a slightly different mood and mission, are united by their focus on simple preparations of fine ingredients. Alain Passard, in his introduction to this book, salutes them for "cherishing our precious food industries."

Not surprisingly, plants predominate in many dishes, such as spinach, chard, and Brussels sprouts glazed with butter, chervil, and wild garlic. Caramelized cabbage is served with Madras curry butter, whipped fromage frais, chive oil and "sauerkraut salt" made from dehydrated fermented cabbage which has been pulverized. But there are seafood dishes from Clamato, rabbit fritters from the countryside near D'une Ile, and desserts which capture the cosmopolitan character of Paris, such as mint ice cream with satsuma marmalade and za'atar.

Beautifully photographed in color throughout. Hardcover.

Click here for the French edition.