Les Grands Classiques – an excerpt

We are in the extreme west of Paris, amid the 2090 acres of the Bois de Boulogne, the large park hanging off of the southwest edge of Paris and one of most relaxing places in the city. Le Bois (or woods) is often called “the lungs of Paris”; its many trees provide 70% of the oxygen to the traffic-congested city.

I‘m admiring the marvellous, man-made, forty-six foot high waterfall built in the nineteenth century as part of the massive renovation of Paris by Georges-Eugène Haussmann, under the orders of Emperor Napoleon III. The emperor was so enamoured of the waterfall that he had a cabin built next to it as a woodland retreat for his royal self.

As I walk beneath the falls I feel the spray of water fed by the artesian wells of Passy. During the intervening 150 years the woodland cabin has grown into a lavish restaurant with a large curved glass and iron wall opening up onto its namesake, La Grande Cascade. In this elegant ambiance and historic setting, we are to be the guests of Chef Frédérick Robert and his team of professionals.

What’s about to unfold is a classic French meal, with every aspect carefully choreographed and planned. The sort of meal that caused Germany to invade France again and again; who wouldn’t want a piece of this? The elegant, flawless event will play out like a classical composition by Saint-Saëns.

Stuffy? Non, pas de tout, not at all. Service like this leaves you both amazed and satisfied with the care and attention, but also with the friendliness. It’s not that sort of hi-I’m-Todd-I’ll-be-your-server-how-you-folks-doing service where anything goes; there are careful rules to be observed, designed with the sole purpose of maximizing your pleasure during these few hours.

As we approach the restaurant, a young man in a black suit suit sweeps invisible leaves away from the entrance. He guides us into the majestic entrance and leads us to a table set for four next to the wall of windows.

The room is classic elegance. Soaring windows, lavish draperies, chandeliers, stuffed and upholstered chairs, white tablecloths, Limoges china plates trimmed in gold leaf. Our team of servers seats the two of us. And then one of life’s happy moments occurs.

A young man of about twenty with freckles and big round glasses pushes the champagne cart in our direction. No, it’s more than a cart, let’s call it a champagne wagon. Clearly designed for the sole purpose of carting a sizaine of champagnes set in a giant ice bath, at the edges are specially cut holes to accommodate champagne glasses...