William Ledeuil is the proprietor of Ze Kitchen Galerie, located at 4, rue des Grandes Augustins (on Rive Gauche, just a couple blocks downriver from the big Saint-Michel fountain and square). I’ve eaten at "Ze" several times, and have always been delighted at Chef Ledeuil’s imaginative and delicious preparations, solidly French in style and technique with an Asian touch.
Today was different.
I was on the waiting list for the last lunch seating at 2:00, and they contacted me this morning to say that a place was available. Indeed, when I arrived the resto was full except for one table.
The amuse-bouche was very tasty - a small stout pottery tumbler of white bean soup with chicken stock, cream, and lots of coriander. “Drink it all down in one shot,” the hostess suggested - just warm, invigorating, tastebud and appetite stimulating. Yummers!
I ordered their Wagyu beef raviolis with eggplant and ginger sauce for my first course, and a bluefin tuna with bouillabaisse juice and sweet bell peppers for my main. My waiter’s wine recommendation was a white, a 2020 Georges Venay Condrieu, “Les Terrassas de l’Empire.”
Well, sad to say, the Wagyu raviolis were overpowered by a very aggressive and rich, almost barbeque-tasting sauce, heavy in tomato, beef stock, ginger, eggplant, crimini and enoki mushrooms, roughly chopped hazelnuts, and sprinkled with sesame seeds. Strange. Why would you disguise the flavor of such a premium ingredient as Wagyu beef in such a heavy stock? And why serve this as a first course? I think the waiter said this was one of their house specials. Puzzling.
The wine was quite fresh and herbal, with a hint of licorice. It did cut through some of the richness of the ravioli sauce. But not enough!
To what shall I compare thee, bluefin tuna? Such a spectacular and rare thing. Unbelievably tender when raw, a melt-in-the-mouth quality that you don’t usually associate with muscle. Absolute innocence. They correctly barely seared the tuna, but then they overwhelmed it with a thickened and fairly sweet bouillabaisse sauce (a stock of multiple types of fish, shellfish and aromatics, usually enhanced with saffron and rouille), some roasted red bell peppers, tiny potatoes, and fennel fronds. Again, a premium ingredient overwhelmed by a too intense sauce. Why? Happily, I was able to eat just the tuna and leave all the accompaniments behind. And again, the wine worked well with the tuna and what little I ate of the accompaniments!
I’m happy to report, though, that the dessert was very nice. Shiso ice cream with roasted figs that were just above fridge temperature (I think they would have been better at room temp or slightly warm), raspberry syrup, blackberries, a crumble, and a couple of very thin tuille shards. Beautifully balanced, nothing overpowered, nice and refreshing.
I got to thinking about the nature of this resto. Service was very speedy (hardly any wait between courses - I was done in one hour). Portions were large. Favors were intense, sauces were rich and powerful. Not much subtlety. It looked like a business/government crowd, mostly men. Almost everything about it said “powerful man, in a hurry!” An extreme contrast to my refined lunch at Anne-Sophie Pic yesterday.
It’s been a few years since my last visit, but the change is striking. Chef Ledeuil has great credentials, having run three of Guy Savoy’s restos before opening his own. This is a favorite place for culinary students from Ferrandi and Le Cordon Bleu to do their internships (and I saw a lot of them through the kitchen window!) but chef Ledeuil was in the house making the rounds of the tables, so he certainly would have known what was leaving the kitchen. Surprising. In any case, I’m dropping this resto from my “highly recommended” list.
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