Taillevent is listed in the book “1,000 Places to See Before You Die”. Pour moi, the ultimate Ms. Check-Off, I had to dine there some day. Life is short.
Taillevent means “cut the wind” and the nickname “Le Taillevent” referred to Guillaume Tirel. He was born in 1310 and cooked for the French Norman kings, earning the stripe as one of the original Master Chefs. More significantly for me, he laid down the law of recipes in a book called “Le Viandier”. A copy is in the Vatican City and another at the national library in France, as well as the Library of Congress.
Renowned for its wine selection, I went to Taillevent for its whole experience and I was not disappointed. The service was brisk, professional and pretty much flawless. Everything was crisp – the fresh clean-lined decor juxtaposed against classic architecture, sharp jackets on smart wait staff who moved with purpose, table setting graced by fresh flowers and an elegant cut crystal candle votive.
We were served the most luxurious flaky bread to go with our Billecart-Salmon rose champagne. We actually welcomed the buttery smear on our fingers, and went on to try the other choices of bread.
First course was a crystal clear taste of fresh scallops with a side of Osetra caviar, and toast oozing with even more butter when pinched.
Next was blue lobster flambed with whisky in front of you. As a Nonya, I am somewhat accustomed to brandy – Nonyas douse almost everything with brandy, from Kueh Lapis to Itek Tim. The peaty whiff of whisky came through and registered rather quickly, the lobster tail was served alongside the season’s freshest asparagus and a gratinated lobster head.
Spring was in the air when we had the next course – a rack of lamb. I ordered a Pauillac 2016 to go with it. I roast a mean lamb and this tasted like home. Oftentimes, all it takes is the highest quality of meat, unadorned but for the perfect prescription of salt and pepper, served with sides that complement, not compete with the main star. In this case, we had creamy whipped potatoes, cannelloni and the best part of all, caramelised Jerusalem artichoke with a coat of coriander that reminded me of a vegetarian Itek Sio (duck braised in coriander).
The cheese trolley did not disappoint so I had my fill of French hits – Epoisses, Mont D’Or and Reblochon. Crepes Suzette came coated with an abundant syrup of sugar melted on the spot before us. The tender layers had a mouthfeel of popiah egg skin. We ended with a mignardise of vanilla and tonka bean macarons.
Would I go back? Definitely. Granted that there are several other culinary legends that I would be keen to try. There is something special about this place and the food quality and overall tastefulness of the ambience hit the spot for me. I can’t wait to go back to Paris and find another reason to celebrate with a meal at Le Taillevent once again.
