French Laundry Plates

Restaurants are the new Broadway shows. The chefs are the directors, the restaurant design is the set, the uniforms are the costumes, the tableware the props and the food is of course the star. While it is often easier to get a seat for a matinee performance, with understudies in the wings, it is the evening performance we covet.

Just like a show tune you cant get out of your head, restaurant goers often want to take home a souvenir from their experience. A cookbook to recreate dishes, a pan endorsed by the chef du jour, or even a bag of petit fours direct from the kitchen. Sadly, the oysters and pearls doesn't come out quite right, the pan under performs on your sub-par stove and the petits fours disappear in the cab.

With the opening of le monde des chefs, Jean-Claude Gotheron provides you with the only thing you really need to recreate your meal at French Laundry or simply to create your own version. With dishes, cutlery and glassware from some of the top toques in the world, you could easily miss this three-week old store on your way to the Rue de Cler Market if you walk too fast.

Part gallery, part shop, Monsieur Gotheron displays the tableware of up to four chefs at a time, currently showcasing Tom Colicchio of Craft, Joachim Splichal of Patina, Thomas Keller of the aforementioned French Laundry and the hometown favorite Michel Rostang, whose namesake restaurant is one of his personal favorites.

 

After sending each design to the chef or restaurant for approval, the tableware is handcrafted in France and then perfectly placed for the eager foodies that happen to stumble upon the world of chefs.

While dining with plates from the French Laundry may cost less than actually eating there, expect to pay a pretty penny for these original and exclusive items, such as 57 euros for a plate from Patina. For those who are matrimonially inclined, you can register at le monde des chefs and pray that someone eyes the tortoise cutlery set from Craft.  As for the rest of us, holding on the reservation line may be the closest we'll ever get, but you can be sure that I will be cleaning my plate either way.

le monde des chefs

170 Bis, Rue de Grenelle

Paris 33 (0)1 40 62 98 88

lemondedeschefs@thanakra.com

Comments

Personally I would prefer to keep my bottles and open...