Breakthrough Restaurant: Le Chateaubriand
Basque Chef Inaki Aizpitarte has embraced the current Parisian fashion for fusion cooking with aplomb creating new and exciting dishes out of global ingredients in a classic 1930s bistro setting complete with dark wood panelling and original floor tiling and situated in the 11th arrondisement. The setting and traditional name of the bistro act as a foil to his contemporary cooking style which has largely been influenced by Aizpitarte's travels to Asia, Central America, Israel and Egypt. Aizpitarte previously worked at La Famille and Le Transversal before setting up Le Chateaubriand in 2006 to immediate acclaim from critics and customers alike - in fact his concept has even coined a new phrase - 'bistronomy' meaning experimental haute cuisine at affordable prices.
Behind the stove:
Inaki Aizpitarte
What they say:
"The setting would seem to promise lentils with andouillettes; instead waiters with six o-clock shadows deliver shucked oysters on a bed of pureed acai, an exotic Brazilian berry with a flavour that hints of chocolate" Travel and Leisure.
New dish this year:
Poached Foie Gras with Poppy Seeds and Red Cabbage Gaspacho
Not a lot of people know that:
Aizpitarte came to cooking fairly late and learnt to cook courtesy of a Serbian chef while on a trip to Tel Aviv
Le Chateaubriand, 129 Avenue Parmentier, 75011 Paris, France0033 1 43 57 45 95
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