SPORTIEST

dining
Gourmet Dining
glorious game
By Patricia Valicenti
Game has enjoyed a glorious history in France from
the tables of the mighty lords of the Middle ages to
the land’s powerful monarchs and it is still savoured
today, offered on a host of the capital’s fine tables.
and the game season is in full swing throughout the
winter months with Parisian restaurants offering a host of original
and traditional preparations of the savoury fare.
The forests and woods that encircle Paris all once teemed with
large and small game and were favoured hunting haunts of the
monarchs of France. Hunting lodges still dot the landscape though
other uses are made of them, like the former lodge of the Duke of
Valmy in which the Marmottan Monet Museum is housed. The city
even has its own hunting museum, Le Musée de la Chasse et de la
Nature, located in a pair of splendid 17th century mansions in the
Marais neighbourhood.
Game indelibly makes its mark on Taillevent’s wine pairing menu
which was elaborated with Jay Mcinerney, the author of, among
other works, Bacchus and Me: adventures in the Wine Cellar. The
american writer chose the wines while the chef alain solivérès
imagined the dishes to match them and the five-course menu
includes three delectable dishes of game. There is the fabulous
pheasant in a cream sauce with foie gras sublimed by sauternes,
while the course of young partridge with polenta and olives is
savoured with a Gevrey Chambertin followed by venison with
hazelnuts, chestnuts and the sublime sauce Grand-Veneur
(meaning head huntsman) served with a Pessac Léognan.
François Gagnaire who trained with alain Chapel and Pierre
Gagnaire (no relation) and who obtained a Michelin star at his
restaurant Puy-en-Velay has taken over the kitchens at the Hôtel
du Collectionneur, elaborating his menu with seasonal products,
and a sought after highlight on the current menu is his take on
venison. The roebuck, hunted in France, is delightfully prepared
with candied turnips, onions with mango vinegar and pepper
sauce.
TaillevenT
15 rue Lamennais (8th), 01 44 95 15 01
The five-course wine pairing menu featuring
game is served through January 15th
ResTauRanT PieRRe GaGnaiRe
6 rue Balzac (8th),
01 58 36 12 50
Closed Jan 1-Jan 7
Meanwhile, Pierre Gagnaire is brilliantly showcasing game
throughout his current menu. Witness the young partridge
flavoured with holly brandy or opt for the truffled hare terrine. a
dish entitled Comme en Castille is all about marinated partridge
sautéed with garlic then conserved in a small jar with olive oil,
savoury and anise. Carry on in earnest with a main course of the
venison and young boar duo or a saddle of venison with Malabar
pepper in a Diane sauce. The hare dish emerges in three different
servings starting with the saddle, then the thigh and a traditional
puff pastry tourte.
le safRan ResTauRanT
Hôtel du Collectionneur
51-57 rue de Courcelles (8th),
01 58 36 67 97
The wine pairing menu “Les Cinq de Jay McInerney” at Le Taillevent © Thomas Duval
64 WHERE Paris i JaNUarY 2015