yam’Tcha – an Exotic 2.5-hour Lunch! – Saturday, 30 April

Restaurant yam’Tcha in the 1st arrondissement achieved its first Michelin star in 2010.  Only 1% of Michelin-starred chefs are women, and its chef, Adeline Grattard, is one of them.  Here’s what Michelin says about her resto.   “Adeline Grattard now plies her trade in Rue St Honoré (50m from her previous address). She has a remarkable feel for ingredients with simple and striking associations - influences of France and Asia - devised to be paired with a selection of excellent teas. This young chef, trained at L'Astrance and in Hong Kong, cultivates clarity with style.”

I was able to get a reservation for lunch there today.  On Saturdays they only serve a seven-course prix fixe menu, with optional tea &/or wine pairings.  I chose the tea pairing.

A beautiful experience, dinnerware and surroundings are part of the attraction in Michelin-starred restos. Her gorgeous iron teapots, tiny porcelain cups, tea serving boxes, fine flatware and plates, and handmade delicate glass bowls and mignardise pedestals were a joy to view and use.  And, of course, the food was brilliant.

My welcome drink was a tiny cup of delicate Oolong tea. I’m not usually a fan of Oolong because it’s so intense and leathery, but this stuff was wonderful.  I also ordered a Kir Royale for an aperitif, and it lasted me though my 2.5-hour meal!

The first course: a tiny egg roll, chilled artichoke velouté soup, Jerusalem artichoke chips, and an intense mirin (I believe) dipping sauce.  The Oolong went well with this.

The second course: slices of raw bluefin tuna with shimeji mushrooms, just-cooler-than-room-temperature mushroom infusion broth, and sesame seeds. A very light vegetal/herbal green tea went with this.  Wow!  I’ve never had such sublime tuna.  Now I "get" why it is so sought after and spectacularly expensive.

Next, my first warm course:  blue lobster, scallop, fabulous braised-then-scorched onions in a peppery, rich sauce that tasted like veal demi glace (I’m not sure what it was).  An Oolong from Taiwan accompanied this – it was leathery, toasty, deep, substantial, and warming. The tea, although delightful, couldn't quite stand up to the dish. Happily, my Kir Royale did!

The fourth course was red mullet over a thinly-sliced slightly astringent vegetable that looked like a parsnip (the waiter said it was an Italian artichoke), surrounded with a citrus sauce.  Another oolong, this one with a floral (jasmine?) essence from China, paired with it beautifully. The fish was sweet, tender, slightly oily, and pure. The citrus sauce had a fresh quality – I’m guessing that after the juices and other ingredients were warmed and reduced, Chef Adeline added some fresh juice and pulp to finish it.

The fifth course was a substantial portion of braised fat green asparagus with crab meat in a peppery sauce. Sparkling water was best with this, and again my Kir Royale stood up to the strong flavors beautifully.

The sixth course was sweetbreads and morels with Shaoxing (a rice wine from China) sauce and some drizzles of black rice vinegar.  It was paired with a fabulous Pu'er tea - aged, fermented, toasty, earthy woodsmoky – almost like a campfire! Sadly, by this time I was too stuffed to eat it all and I left some of the sweetbreads - such a shame since they were perhaps the best I've had and are such a difficult-to-prepare luxurious product.

Dessert was served with a red tea from southwest China that was light and had a slight chocolate sense.  And what a glorious combination of treats: a big thin chocolate ribbon with fresh strawberries, smoked strawberry sorbet, fresh chocolate meringue, chocolate marshmallows; and in another bowl, vanilla ice cream with sesame seeds, hot black bean sauce and gold rice crackers. WOW!  And after dessert came the mignardises: a chocolate truffle, a toasted coconut chili lime marshmallow, and a tiny orange creme tart.

I was the first person there at noon, but by 1:00 there were only a couple empty tables. And two sweet young Chinese-French girls at the next table (about 3 and 5 years old) were eating pretty much everything – no special kiddie menu for them!

Luckily, I was able to chat with Chef Adeline for a few minutes as I was leaving.  She is charming and humble and speaks English.  I do recommend saying hello and thank you to the chef at fine restaurants whenever you can – it adds another element to your experience, and they usually seem to appreciate it!

After an exotic 2.5-hour lunch it was time to walk home.  Happily, it was an easy stroll, probably about 3/4 mile to the apartment, giving me time to replay this rare dining experience in my head.  It might not be for everyone, but I do highly recommend it to all of you sophisticates out there in my reading audience!  Besides, we all need to support the great female chefs of the world.

Their website:  http://www.yamtcha.com/  121 rue St. Honoré

By the way, Chef Adeline was featured, along with Magnus Nilsson (of Fäviken in Sweden), in an episode of "The Mind of a Chef" a few years ago.  (They worked together at l'Astrance about 10 years ago.)  Here's a clip of one segment, where she and Magnus grilled and gave away sausages at the Eiffel Tower!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaxO_CYhTLE&feature=youtu.be

Update September 2016: Netflix just released a new series called Chef's Table: France.  Chef Adeline and yam'Tcha is the subject of episode 3!

Chef Adeline Grattard