Septime, Paris

Septime (95€, 2/13/2020, 7- Course incl. VAT)

Chef Bertrand Grébaut started his culinary career at the three-star L’Arpège and subsequently won his own Michelin star as the opening Chef at L’Agapé. Chef Grébaut has once said “I wanted to liberate good French food from expensive hotel dining rooms”. He had his theme on making creative, plant and vegetable-focused dishes that change every two weeks. Because it is a surprise tasting menu at dinner, it is important to specify any intolerances or food allergy. English menus were not available, descriptions in parenthesis are the Google translation.

Septime is located near the Bastille area. The restaurant was decorated in a relaxed and unpretentious way, no white tablecloth, wooden tables/wooden chairs and the spiral staircase, forcing the diners to direct serious attention to the plate. It offered a tasting menu of 7 courses. I requested for an additional course toward the end of the meal. Therefore, I had an 8-course meal with extra charges.

I.Amuse Bouche

1. Bouillon de Racines (Root Bouillon) – Soup made from root vegetables including celery, parsley, nasturtium, Jerusalem artichoke. It was well-seasoned and tasty.

2. Flat Bread au Blé Ancien, Comté et Truffe (Flat Bread with Old Wheat, Comté and Truffle) – Light and crusty flat bread covered with 18-month aged Comté cheese and topped with Périgord truffles. Cheese was siphoned with air and yielded with smoother texture. It was just delicious and I wished I could have more.

II. Bouillabaisse, Seiche d’Oléron et Noisette (Bouillabaisse, Cuttlefish from Oléron and Hazelnut)

Sliced raw cuttlefish, from the island of Oléron which is the largest island on the French Atlantic coast, and al dente confit potatoes were the main ingredients. Cuttlefish, cut into ½ inch slices, was fresh and succulent and potatoes was cut in #9 spaghetti size and poached in hot water for a few second. The texture of potatoes was amazing, while it still retained its crispiness, it did not have that raw potatoes taste. Soup base was made of bouillabaisse and saffron, it was thick enough to coat the spaghetti-like potatoes. Chef also complemented the overall taste by including hazelnut oil. The superb creativity and perfectness of this dish was under estimated by its appearance.

III. Cerf de la Meuse, Chou Pontoise, Sabayon Miso (Meuse deer, Chou Pontoise, Sabayon Miso)

Venison was prepared in Gravlax style, cured with sugar and pepper then dried for 24-48 hours. Diced venison was served with miso sabayon, venison bone infused oil, and vinegar. At the very top, there was a piece of marinated Pontoise cabbage leaf covering part of venison and sprinkled with togahachi spice. Venison was tender, tasty and flavorful (probably from the extra step of using venison bone infused oil), without gamy taste. The Pontoise cabbage has been on the lands around Paris since the 16 century, and is recognizable by its curly leaves, less compact than the white cabbage and has a purplish tender center. It is particularly tender, sweet and sugary. It can be eaten raw or cooked, sold all winter long. Pontoise cabbage is also known for its therapeutic benefits, it is rich in vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium and anti-oxidant.

IV. Potage Cressonnière, Pralin de Graine de Courge (Watercress Soup, Squash Praline)

It was sautéed spinach, sorrel and watercress; their flavor was rather unconventional. Upon inquiry, I found out Chef used infused nuts oil to sautée the vegetable. Nuts infused oil did produce a delicate and pleasant flavor. In addition, Chef also served thickened cream from Normandy, water cress velouté and roasted pumpkin seeds paste to complement the taste and flavor. Velouté is one of the five “mother sauces” of French cuisine. Using velouté to balance the richness of cream and still offer the levelness of fresh vegetables was an excellent practice by the Chef.

V. St. Jaques en Coquille, Lard Fumé et Burre Laurier (Scallops in Shell, Smoked Bacon and Bay Butter)

I have not had Coquille St. Jacques for a while. Loved to eat it again. Scallop, from St. Malow, was roasted half-raw and served with lardo (smoked bacon from Southern France), red fermented berries and fermented mushroom. Sauce was made of bay leaf butter and wine (Chenin Blanc wine from Anjou Mosse). My server informed that Chef was very particular about the type of wine used in the sauce. Chef was also very keen on using fermented vegetable to render a more sophisticated taste. Scallop was tender, and succulent. Lardo gave scallop more juice in the chewing process. Another dish of perfect taste and flavor.

VI. Poulette du Patis, Noix Pickles et Truffe Noire (Patis Chicken, Pickles Nuts and Black Truffle)

One piece of hen breast meat and one piece of hen thigh meat were broiled to golden brown on skin. Hen was prepared like doing Patis fried chicken. Patis fried chicken is a crispy and tasty recipe that requires chicken marinated in fish sauce and ground black pepper before coated in flour or cornstarch mixture. Chef did his best to minimize the coating while still kept the skin crispy and meat juicy. Hen was served with sauce made of meat juice and black truffle and pickled walnut, and mushroom purée. This was supposed to be the last savory dish. But I felt that I have not had enough yet. I, therefore, requested for one additional course which I would pay extra for the cost. Chef delightfully agreed to prepare for a seafood dish.

VII. Turbot, Sauce Moule Pimenton, Oseille Rouge (Turbot, Chili Mold Sauce, Red Sorrel)

The turbot is a relatively large species of flatfish found on menus in the whitest of the white-tablecloth restaurants. Like halibut, turbot is a highly prized species often regarded as the best of the flatfish with great flavor and firm, white flesh. Chef used wild-caught Atlantic turbot and a rarely used classic sauce made of Vin Jaune, pimento and mussels’ juice. In addition, red sorrel and smoked paprika was sprinkled on top. A few pieces of white flesh placed on the edge of plate were the meat from turbot fin which has different texture from the fish fillet. I also noticed that the fish fillet was only slightly browned, probably it was not boiled under the high heat.

Vin Jaune is French for “yellow wine” whose production is concentrated in the Jura region in eastern France. Even though it is yellow – more like a sweet dessert wine in its look, Vin Jaune is as dry as a wine can get. It has a complex and distinctive flavor marked by notes of pine resin, curry, citrus, nuts, salt and anis. Vin Jaune is made from grapes harvested in late October when the sugars have developed enough to have a potential alcohol level of 13-15% for the finished wine.

Fish was tender and with subtle taste-of-the-sea flavor (less browning made it less fishy), accompanied by the extraordinarily elaborate sauce. It was the perfect way of ending the savory dishes.

Palette Cleanser – Crème à la Feuille de Citronnier, Citron Caviar (Lemon Leaf Cream, Lemon Caviar)

Penna cotta with citrus jam, pepper, and lemon tree leaves infused dill oil. It was a light, delicious and refreshing.

VIII. Glace au Pain et Miel, Avoine et Lait d’Amande (Bread and Honey Ice Cream, Oats and Almond Milk)

The 1st one was Bread and Honey Ice Cream with finely toasted oats crumble on the side and pollen and almond milk on top. It was not overwhelmingly rich in substance, but rich in flavor.

The 2nd one was petit puff. Its outside texture was a bit crunchier than puff. Inside was filled with yummy custard, dough was made of flour and ground nuts.

Chef Grébaut’s cooking style is produce-centric and “naïve, spontaneous, balanced” as described by himself. Tastes and textures are amazingly and intriguingly playing off to a perfect way with genuine creativity. It is notoriously difficult and frustrating to get a reservation at Septime. We had to get up at 4 am Eastern time to make a trans-Atlantic phone call. We were lucky enough to get a reservation to experience such an extraordinary gastronomic satisfaction. Was it worth the hassle? The answer is a definite “yes”. Septime’s current Tasting menu priced at €95 is a true steal for a one Michelin Star restaurant in Paris.