After several months of refurbishing, the Alain Ducasse’s luxury Plaza Athénée restaurant has reopened its doors to the public. Here, Alain Ducasse tells a personal and radical story, continuing the work he began twenty-five years ago. He represents the naturalness cuisine, inspired by the fish-vegetables-cereals trilogy, with the help of his chef Romain Meder. Healthier and more natural, more respectful of the Planet, it delivers a free and nearly instinctive interpretation of Haute Cuisine, revealing the produces’ original flavour, from the noble to the humble, all exceptional.
The dining room is a gem- designed by Patrick Jouin and Sanjit Manku – where all is softness of curves, materials and contents. As you enter the restaurant, your attention is drawn to the monumental polished stainless-steel domes on the floor that reflect the thousands of floating crystals of the ceiling chandelier, the only retained element of the restaurant’s former design. These super-scaled and unusual domed shapes form the backrest of banquettes where diners can sit, or screen off groups of tables and chairs.
On the table, shapes from yesterday and today are joined in perfect unison. Precious materials cohabitate with the simpler objects in a collection of unique creations designed by Pierre Tachon or Shinichiro Ogata, by Rina Menardi, Gérard Crociani or Tina Frey. Cutlery created in the 1970’s by Roger Tallon is exclusively reedited for the restaurant. Alain Ducasse himself discovered some pieces in flea markets. On the table and in the kitchen alike, crude and noble materials converge.
all images © Pierre Monetta / video courtesy of Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée / H/t contemporist