Food adventures in Paris - Part 1: Dessance

This is our first blog in a while, mainly due to the general busyness of life getting us out of the routine of blogging about our love of food.  However, a recent trip to Paris has given us the impetus to resume so here is Part 1 of our food adventures in Paris, bringing you a review of the incredible Dessance restaurant.

First a few words about dining in Paris in general as a vegetarian/vegan.  Mr Vegan Man has been to Paris twice before, both times more than a decade ago, and whilst it was not hugely difficult to eat well as a vegetarian nor was it particularly easy.  Happily, it is getting easier to be a vegetarian or vegan in Paris.  Many higher end restaurants offer vegetarian menus - particularly those restaurants that offer a tasting menu - and most places will offer at least one vegetarian option.  You will still find more traditional brasseries offering an assiette of vegetables - basically a plate of cooked and/or raw veg - as there only option for non-meat eaters, however many places now offer something more creative and enjoyable.  There are also many vegetarian and vegan only restaurants scattered around the city.

On to Dessance, a restaurant we located whilst browsing TripAdvisor which immediately piqued our interest.  Dessance's concept is that it is a dessert bar, however that is somewhat misleading as although the dishes are presented as desserts and will generally contain sweet components, the balance of flavours includes savoury and salty notes.  They also serve some dishes that are primarily savoury, though even these will often contain one sweeter ingredient.

We opted for their carte blanche menu, which - as it sounds - means there is no menu.  You simply select how many courses you want and of which type and the chefs will cook you whatever they have decided to make that day.  There are three options - the 'audacious', consisting of four fruit/veg based dishes and one more traditional dessert, the 'irresistible' consisting of the above plus one savoury dish (this is usually meat or fish based but they offer a vegetarian alternative), or the 'hedonist' consisting of two savoury dishes, four fruit/veg dishes and a dessert.  We went for the 'irresistible' option, along with a drinks pairing which included alcoholic and non-alcoholic offerings (there is an alcohol only and no alcohol option too).

An appetiser was served consisting of cucumber and edible flower leaves served on a sweet and slightly salty crumb.  It was a tasty forerunner of what was to follow.

The savoury course was the next to be served.  For WOTVM this consisted of a fillet of medium rare veal served with squash and a crumb of digestive biscuit and pine nut.  For Mr Vegan Man the veal was substituted for asparagus.  The dish was beautifully balanced, each ingredient cooked perfectly and with the utmost respect to enhance the flavour of each component.  The mild sweetness of the biscuit and pine nut complemented the savoury elements beautifully.

On to the next course - a dish of mango, parsnip and salsify.  These are not flavours that you would normally put together, however the dish was simply stunning.  The mango had been lightly compressed to give it the most beautiful texture and the flavour of it was so intense.  The burnt parsnip crumb gave a bitter counter-point to the sweet mango, the salsify added a savoury touch and a perfectly smooth parsnip puree helped to bring the plate together into a harmonious whole.

What followed was another unusual combination of pear, butternut squash, almond financier, and a warm yoghurt dressing, garnished with edible flowers.  Once again, the fruit was the star of the dish - the fresh pear had a lovely texture and such an intense pear flavour, whilst another slice had been cooked with cardamom and the spicing worked perfectly with the sweet fruit flavour.  The pieces of financier were not overly sweet and added a nice texture and nutty tones to the dish.  WOTVM is not a huge fan of pear, but even she enjoyed the dish.

Next up was perhaps the most unusual combination of flavours on a menu already pretty daring in that respect.  Mushroom and chocolate are not usually considered natural bed-fellows, but in the hand of the skilled chefs working at Dessance it was somehow made to work.  The earthy, slightly salty mushrooms balanced well with the bittersweet chocolate via the medium of a wonderful chestnut ice cream; the chestnut flavour helping to bridge the gap between the earthiness of the mushroom and the sweetness of the chocolate.  It was everything a good dish should be - surprising, innovative and, most importantly, delightful to eat.  The presentation was beautiful, reminiscent of a woodland floor.

The main meal concluded with us being served a different, more traditional dessert each with instructions from the waiting staff that we were to share.  WOTVM was presented with a celebration of caramel served with a lime sorbet, once again balancing sweet flavours with some sharpness so that the dish was not sickly.  It was very tasty indeed.  Mr Vegan Man was served a baked Alaska with coffee and whiskey, the alcohol adding a smoky, peaty flavour to the dish.  It was a lovely way to end the meal.

To our surprise, we were bought an amuse bouche to conclude proceedings, a pina colada sphere which burst in our mouths and filled it with wonderful tropical flavours.  It was a lovely touch at the end of a great dining experience.

The service was thoughtful and attentive and, thankfully for us, the waiters all spoke excellent English.  Table booking was easy, we did this online via The Fork and would recommend booking as it's a small dining room that fills up quickly.  We were seated at the 'bar', running along the open kitchen where you can watch the dishes being prepared and plated with amazing precision and care.  You can see from the pictures that every dish is like a work of art, the colours vibrant and the composition well-thought-out.  Perhaps the most impressive thing about Dessance is the way that simple ingredients are elevated to rock star status, a simple piece of pear or mango becomes something so much more simply by the skilled chefs really bringing out the naturally wonderful flavour of the ingredients at their disposal.

If you visit Paris or already live there then we cannot recommend Dessance highly enough.  It was great to find such a high quality restaurant where the focus is not on meat or fish but on fresh fruits and vegetables and where, should you so wish, the dishes could be easily adapted to cater for a vegan diet.  The overall experience was amazing from start to finish.  The bill, around 150 euros with drinks and tip, felt like good value for the quality of food on offer and well worth it as a treat.

Dessance, we salute you.  For more info visit their website where you can also view the menus on offer and reserve a table.

Dinner at Benedict's

Benedict's opened in Norwich a little over 12 months ago.  The chef/owner, Richard Bainbridge, had been head chef at the acclaimed Morston Hall but decided to strike out alone.  Hearing Rich speak about his experiences of opening the restaurant is quite inspiring; he had limited financial backing which meant no budget for publicity and so the restaurant opened with little fanfare and no real nest egg to fall back on if times were hard. 

It was a gamble, no doubt, although Rich also knew that his appearance on Great British Menu - one of our favourite programmes - was imminent and would offer the kind of publicity that money can't buy.  For anyone who didn't see Great British Menu, Rich absolutely smashed it.  His starter and dessert bookended the banquet menu, and for good measure his main course was amongst the top three in the series too.  It was a great story after a number of very near misses on the programme and anyone who watched the show will have been taken by Rich's open and affable personality.

Since opening, Benedict's has gone from strength to strength, winning a number of awards locally, an excellent review in the Guardian as well as a write up as one of the UK's best new restaurants in the Times.  We first visited towards the end of 2015 and again at the beginning of April with Mr Vegan Man's brother and his partner.  Both visits were excellent and so for WOTVM's birthday last month, Mr Vegan Man bought her a gift certificate for Benedict's and as Mr Vegan Man's birthday is also coming up, we treated ourselves to another visit this Friday.

Despite the food being very much fine dining - many people feel a Michelin star can't be too far away - the décor and atmosphere at Benedict's is decidedly unfussy.  There are no white tablecloths and complicated place settings.  It is simple, classy and elegant.  The service is friendly and attentive but happily far away from being fussy, formal and overbearing.  We were particularly pleased at the end of the evening when we left and one of the waitresses said goodbye and said "good to see you again" - given this was only our third visit, that was a really nice touch and showed an impressive memory!

On to the food and drink.  As we were seated we were asked if we'd like a drink, a G&T or a glass of fizz.  We decided to go for a G&T which is made with their own blended gin made not far away in Cambridge.  The gin was delicious, a hint of cucumber giving it a similar flavour profile to Hendrick's, which is no bad thing. 

There are two main menu choices at Benedict's, diners can either pick two or three courses from the small but interesting a la carte menu (three choices for each course, including one veggie option) for £29 for two courses or £36 for three courses.  The other option is to choose the tasting menu, which provides six courses plus canapés for £52 for the meat option and £45 for the vegetarian option.  They also offer a GBM tasting menu featuring the dishes Rich cooked on the series for £55.  Alongside the tasting menu you can choose a wine flight, with a different wine paired to each course, for £32.  Mr Vegan Man did this on our last visit but we decided against it on this occasion, however you do get a good amount of very good wine for the price and a nice explanation of each wine and how it pairs with the dish you're eating.

After much deliberation we decided to go for the tasting menu - one meat and one vegetarian, naturally.  We also ordered a bottle of Stopham Estate Pinot Blanc, which Mr Vegan Man had tried as part of the wine flight.  It was excellent, really fruity and quite full-bodied for a white wine but still with a freshness that goes nicely with the richly flavoured food on offer.  Before the main canapés arrived, we were treated to some delightful salt and vinegar crisps, served quirkily in a pine cone.  They went nicely with our G&Ts; pleasingly we were asked if we'd like our wine to wait until we'd finished our aperitifs and that was a nice touch and most welcome otherwise we'd have had three drinks on the go with our tap water.

The first canapés arrived - a playful take on cheese and pineapple and vol au vents. The cheese mousse with pressed pineapple was lovely, smooth and creamy cheese complimented by sharp, sweet pineapple.  Mr Vegan Man's pastry case was filled with edible flowers and salad cream and was a lovely little burst of flavour and the pastry was so delicate and melted in the mouth.  WOTVM's pastry was filled with salmon roe mousse and cucumber and was also delicious.

The second round of canapés was a warm sherry foam with a puffed cracker topped with lightly pickled vegetables and fruity gels for Mr Vegan Man, and with cured salmon replacing the vegetables on WOTVM's cracker.  The sherry mousse is one of the tastiest things in the world.  That is no exaggeration.  We were fortunate enough to have it on our last visit too and the four of us loved it.  As on our previous visit, we were offered some sourdough bread and unpasteurised butter to mop up the remaining foam with.  The bread and butter was glorious - the sourdough was very tangy and the butter rich and salty.  Little touches like this make a big difference.

Our appetizers arrived - the first dish on the tasting menu - with WOTVM having a Baron Bigod mousse with hen's yolk and Mr Vegan Man having Katja's Garden (named for Mrs Bainbridge), which was a combination of pea sorbet, tomato foam and edible flowers and herbs.  The pea sorbet was wonderfully smooth and packed with fresh pea flavour; underneath it were some fresh young peas which added a nice texture and little bursts of sweetness.  The tomato foam was so fresh and clean and added a bit of acidity to the sweet flavour of the peas, whilst the flowers and herbs added extra freshness. 

In contrast, WOTVM's appetizer was rich and decadent, the creamy Baron Bigod cheese - a British cheese similar in appearance to brie - combining with the runny egg yolk made an unctuous combination.  WOTVM tried Mr Vegan Man's appetizer too and was a little jealous as she loved the lightness of Katja's Garden with its fresh, summer flavours.

Our starters followed soon after, a Caesar salad for Mr Vegan Man and mackerel with watercress, radish and dill for WOTVM.  The mackerel was seared and full of smoky flavour, the little pickles radishes were earthy and sharp, working well with the oily fish.  There was a green quenelle on the plate which we think was dill butter, WOTVM was not overly keen on this as it seemed a little sweet to her taste.

Mr Vegan Man's Caesar salad was really tasty.  The scorched baby gem lettuce had a lovely smoky flavour that stayed in the back of the mouth and the breadcrumbs and finely grated cheese were nicely salty.  The salad cream gave some nice acidity and overall it was a really successful dish and a clever twist on a classic.

The next course was a Caesar salad for WOTVM, this time substituting Gentleman's Relish for the salad cream, and for Mr Vegan Man a hen's yolk ravioli with watercress and crispy garlic.  The ravioli was beautifully cooked, the pasta was nice and thin with a beautiful soft texture.  The egg yolk oozed out giving a lovely rich coating to the rest of the ingredients.  The seasoning was lovely and Mr Vegan Man also had a green quenelle on his plate but in contrast to WOTVM, he really liked it and it went well with the rest of the dish.  There was a good balance between rich decadence from the egg and butter and the freshness of watercress and herbs.

WOTVM also enjoyed her Caesar salad, the Gentleman's Relish adding a nice tang along with the crisp and smoky scorched lettuce.  She agreed with Mr Vegan Man that it was a really good dish with a nice combination of flavours.

The first three courses came fairly quickly after one another but there was a welcome gap before the main courses arrived.  On the three times we've visited the pacing of the meal has always been something that's stood out - the six courses plus canapes is quite a lot of food, so to avoid feeling overly full too quickly the full menu is spread out nicely and at the end of the meal you feel satisfied but not uncomfortable.  At the same time, at no point do you really feel that you are waiting a long time for your next course; again, it's the little details like this which make a place stand out.

Mr Vegan Man's main course was a potato pithivier with summer truffle and buttered pilsner sauce.  The pithivier was beautifully made, the pastry was crisp and surprisingly light.  The truffle-laced potato was earthy and deep in flavour whilst the buttered pilsner sauce, which was used sparingly so as not to drown the dish, brought everything together.  What really set the dish alight, though, was the truffle mousse and the lovingly-cooked baby vegetables.  The mousse was packed with flavour and was simultaneously light and creamy, although WOTVM turned her nose up at it as she has a bit of an aversion to truffle and found the smell quite strong.  The vegetables were superb, baby turnips, golden and purple beetroot and young onions and leaks, all of them cooked to perfection and packed with flavour.  On previous visits we've experienced the same; the veg on Rich's dishes are not an afterthought or accompaniment, they are integral to the dish and are treated as such.

WOTVM had truffled guinea fowl with pistachio pilaf rice, seared shallots and a white port and shellfish bisque.  The guinea fowl was well-cooked, juicy and tender.  The thigh meat was flavoured with herbs - WOTVM thinks it was thyme - which gave it a contrasting flavour to the breast meat which she really enjoyed.  WOTVM's dish was also garnished with baby vegetables and like Mr Vegan Man she found these to be delicious, working really well with the flavoursome guinea fowl.  The dish had a good hit of pistachio flavour and the bisque added a deep, sweet flavour.

The next course was a pre-dessert palette cleanser of lemon verbena sorbet with cucumber.  The sorbet was perfectly made and full of herby, lemony tang.  It was refreshing and light.  The cucumber water, with tiny cubes of cucumber, was equally well-made with a very slight bitterness that contrasted well with the sweetness of the sorbet.  The little pieces of cucumber added a nice bit of texture and bursts of fresh cucumber flavour.

Dessert arrived and looked stunning.  The dark chocolate glaze over the passion fruit mousse had a lovely shine and invited us to tuck in.  The mousse was soft and light, the flavour of the passion fruit both sharp and sweet at the same time.  Little passion fruit seeds popped in our mouths as we tucked in, with a lovely crunch to contrast with the smooth mousse.  The light sponge base also added an extra texture, as did the chocolate crumb around the edge.  The mellow chocolate flavour of the crumb complimented the tartness of the passion fruit, and the dish was balanced just right so that neither the passion fruit nor the chocolate dominated.

We finished our drinks and paid our bill, which came to £150 overall.  The wine we chose was £36 for a bottle, which is in the mid to high range on their wine list - there are a number of wine choices for under £30.  Whilst the price looks high, we feel it is good value.  It's a great experience that lasts a whole evening and you get a lot for your money.

The dishes, as you can see, look superb.  The presentation is wonderful but is matched by the flavour.  Rich prides himself on using fresh and seasonal ingredients and, wherever possible, locally-sourced produce.  As a result the menu changes regularly but what stays the same is the style of food.  Rich and his chefs are incredibly skilled at getting the maximum possible flavour from the ingredients and they use modern techniques to highlight and showcase the produce, not to overshadow it.

We greatly enjoyed our evening.  The restaurant was busy and buzzing, full of very happy diners having a great time.  Benedict's has managed to create a great atmosphere that is uniquely its own, and somehow the restaurant manages to reflect the character of the chef/owner: friendly, welcoming, unpretentious and treating food with both respect and a sense of fun.  It all makes for a great dining experience and we are very glad to have Benedict's here in Norwich.

Benedict's takes bookings online via their website, where you can also view their current menus and news updates.  Please leave any comments below or you can contact us via email.