EXCLUSIVE: Alain Ducasse Brings Warm, Informal Touch to Maison Baccarat
PARIS — Alain Ducasse finds many parallels between fashion and food, and so he characterizes his new restaurant at the Maison Baccarat in Paris as “pret-a-porter de luxe.”
“Not too formal,” he said over lunch recently, ahead of its official opening later this month. The Michelin-starred chef turned over every plate and utensil as his two guests oohed and awed over blue lobster chunks flavored with rose, a deconstructed niçoise salad, and scrumptious wines from across the price and age spectrum.
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A fervent collector of vintage Baccarat since forever, Ducasse approached Maggie Henriquez, the crystal-maker’s president and chief executive officer, the second he heard she planned to transform and modernize its landmark town house on Place des États-Unis — and exalt the brand’s long links to art and artistry.
He brought a new gastronomic concept: small, intensely flavorful and transporting dishes, accompanied by a vast range of wines from storied vineyards and bold upstarts, all served in a casual, upbeat manner that contrasts with the exceptional crystal glasses, and an eclectic array of the finest tableware and cutlery, some from Ducasse’s personal collection.
“Simple, good and efficient,” Ducasse said as he urged Henriquez to dollop cherry and olive marmalade on Roquefort chunks, and tuck into a slim slab of turbot topped with seaweed.
“We are eating the sea,” he said of the unadorned, perfectly cooked fish.
The ebullient French chef curated every detail of the menu and the decor — with not a typical chandelier in sight.
Echoing a theme recurring throughout the vast mansion — exalting crystal artisans — the droplet-shaped light fixtures echo the glass when first blown — some transparent, some in Baccarat’s signature red.
Also lording over diners in the main room’s orderly rows are hundreds of human-like figures, each unique, carved from oak by French artist Jean-Guillaume Mathiaut, whom Ducasse anointed “the Brancusi of wood.”
The little statues partially shield the baroque grandeur of the room, letting the eye wander from the block-like, almost pixelated creations, and out to the plane trees in the square.
(Ducasse explained that his family name roughy translates to oak, so this warm material figures in each of his projects.)
Lunching with Ducasse — his first meal during Baccarat’s soft opening period — was to witness a mindful perfectionist and charismatic conductor, beckoning staff to offer suggestions, launch queries or explain dishes.
One brought over a rectangle of folded red leather that will soon house the wine list, which the chef caressed, sniffed and handed to his guests, explaining that the Umbrian tannery that produced it turns out a quality “better than Hermès. So chic.”
At one point, he picked up a corner of the white tablecloth to show how the red border is embroidered as beautifully on both sides. Like the late Karl Lagerfeld, he’s mad for vintage linens and bought many from the same dealer in Saint-Jean-de-Luz that the German designer frequented.
“Antique crystal and antique linen, I’m obsessed,” Ducasse said.
He shares many traits with Lagerfeld, including a penchant for vintage French luggage — and a curiosity and hunger for the new that seems insatiable. “I never do the same recipe twice,” he stressed.
He loves shopping at Dover Street Market in New York, where he recently scored a white suit by Dries Van Noten, and discovering young artists, winemakers and potters, whose creations find their way into his culinary projects.
Ducasse found his mixologist Margot Lecarpentier in a bar in the gritty Belleville neighborhood of Paris, bowled over by her signature Impeccable cocktail that exalts bitterness and acidity. (Its ingredients include tequila infused with capers and green walnut liqueur.)
The chef also delights in high-low contrasts. Lagerfeld’s most famous was his H&M collaboration in 2003, while Ducasse sees his new Baccarat eateries as welcoming clienteles with a range of means.
He noted it’s possible to have a salad and cocktail in the bar — surrounded by the sublime parchment-walled decor by Jean-Michel Franck, circa 1925 — for under 50 euros, or to splash out on an exceptional bottle of wine for three grand or more.
The main restaurant has a set prix-fixe menu taking into account personal food preferences, with lunch at 90 euros, and dinner at 220 euros.
Adjacent to the bar is a striking, octagonal room for wine tasting, where a raised platform gives a spectacular view of a painting by Gérard Garouste, one of the many artworks dotted throughout the building.
The bar restaurant is open from noon to midnight — hence the name Midi Minuit — underscoring the welcoming, laidback spirit Ducasse was after.
“We take seriously what we do, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously,” was how Henriquez summed up the attitude.
Alain Ducasse Baccarat brings the number of restaurants the chef operates to 35, and one that is sure to attract young generations.
The Maison Baccarat figures prominently in the fourth season of “Emily in Paris” as the site of a lavish and dreamy masquerade ball.
“The awareness that has created has been fantastic,” Henriquez said. “I’ve been very impressed by the number of young people who wrote to me to say, ‘Maggie, wonderful, wow, Baccarat in “Emily in Paris.”‘”
What’s more, she said the scenes on the hit Netflix series perfectly exalt Baccarat’s long links to celebratory moments, giving a youthful and contemporary elan to a brand that’s 260 years old this year.
“It’s very aligned with the soul of his house,” she said. “We say Baccarat is the alchemy of joy.”
Ducasse, too, “understands us well and has a sensitivity for this house. That’s why he decided to bring the gastronomy of the future.”
Almost on cue, the sommelier filled narrow flutes with Jacquesson Champagne and a waiter brought several amuse-bouches, including a carmelized eggplant that resembled a baked brie.
“That’s the sound of Baccarat,” Henriquez enthused after clinking glasses with Ducasse and putting it to her ear to enjoy the crystal’s lingering music.
The intervention of contemporary creators — Mathiaut chairs and tables feature elsewhere in the Baccarat maison, with a graffiti-like work by Harry Nuriev lining the entrance corridor — perpetuates a long association with great artists, who have included Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso, brought to the mansion by its most famous owner, art patron Marie-Laure de Noailles.
“This house breathes the art of creation,” Henriquez said. “Baccarat is a very important component of the history of France. And Alain is, without any doubt, the most important ambassador for French gastronomy in the world.
“It is very important for us, in a joyful and very informal manner, to permanently bring this connection with culture,” she stressed. “It’s very important that this house spotlights young creators. This is my obsession.”
Baccarat has occupied the grand hôtel particulier since 2003, initially with a decor by Philippe Starck, who continues to design crystal for the maison alongside the likes of Marcel Wanders, Arik Levy, Nicolas Triboulot and others.
The latest overhaul of the sprawling venue extends to the gift shop, where designer Philippe Nigro pays homage to Baccarat’s pot furnaces, cooling arches, tools and wheeled shelves.
In 2025, a restaurant and bar will open directly onto the garden, being transformed by landscape designer Jérémie Attali, working in tandem with Ducasse.
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