Ze Last Stop

Our 21st, and final, Michelin-starred restaurant on our 2-month culinary journey in France was Ze Kitchen Galerie (listen, we don't name these things), located in the 5th Arrondissement of Paris on Rue des Grands Augustins, just a few doors away from where Picasso lived and worked from 1936 to 1955, and where he painted Guernica. In his own atelier Chef William Ledeuil is also creating art by blending Asian flavours with French cuisine sensibilities. It was among our top five restaurant experiences in France.

ZKG took years to get a star, because it wasn’t representative of the restaurants Michelin traditionally recognized. It incorporated Asian flavours in a new way, there were no tablecloths and the staff wore blue jeans. It was “really disturbing” for France at the time, Chef told us. But now Michelin has changed and it is recognizing more casual restaurants, with different styles and with a variety of flavours and cooking.

When we asked about an article we read that said he didn’t use flour, butter or cream, Chef shrugged. “I now use butter. I’m in my butter period.” Just like, we thought to ourselves, his neighbour Picasso who had his own artistic periods.