Is the world of Michelin dining in Paris undergoing a quiet revolution? Yes, the establishments with pristine, creaseless white tablecloths and pompous service still exist, but there is a new breed of restaurateurs popping up. A case in point is the one Michelin-starred restaurant, ACCENTS table bourse.
The owner is the unassuming Ayumi Sugiyama, who is also the pastry chef. Her partner, Romain Mahi is the head chef. This young couple projects the diversity and dynamism of modern-day Paris. Their down-to-earth nature is very much in evidence when both of them also act as servers on the restaurant floor. Given their youthful looks, it would be no surprise if some diners thought they were young students gathering waitering work experience, rather than being the main chefs in a Michelin-starred restaurant.
You might be wondering why the restaurant is called ACCENTS. Through someone’s accent, you might be able to ascertain where someone is from. You can stroll through the heart of Paris and encounter innumerable different accents. It is these fascinating cultural exchanges that have enriched everyone’s lives and it’s something Ayumi is keen to highlight. The themes of chance encounters and cultural exchanges are reminiscent of the ones explored in the cult indie-hit, Past Lives.
ACCENTS offers a seven-course tasting menu in the evenings and Saturday lunchtime and a four to six-course tasting menu for lunch Wednesday to Friday. If you give them advance notice, they can prepare a vegetarian tasting menu for you and also cater for any dietary requirements. They offer wine pairings to go with their eclectic tasting menus and the wine menu is helpfully colour-coded for those who get confused by the dazzling array of options. If you want minerality, it is a light blue circle; if you want floral notes, it is a purple circle; and if you are after something more vegetal, it is green.
One thing you will immediately notice is that the kitchen loves to use fruits in its creations. In the amuse-bouche section, what looked like a pig-shaped chocolate was, in fact, black pudding and banana. Unusual? 100%. Did it work? 100%. Diners are happy to pay decent money to sample innovative creations and unusual combinations. Further on in the menu, they have strawberry sourdough bread and a Mirabelle plum tart on the vegetarian menu.
The second thing you will notice is their love for drinks pairing. This is on top of any wine pairings you might have ordered. You start with a non-alcoholic Bloody Mary-type drink to cleanse your palate. Then you are offered a pear and whisky concoction at the starters stage and the meal is finished off with a refreshing pineapple and jasmine tea creation. These pairings have been carefully thought out to enhance the gastronomic journey.
Another trend they like to experiment with is combining their meat and fish courses. The meaty monkfish dish with sardines is accompanied by a slice of duck meat, while their final main course dish of pigeon is served up with eel and a coffee-soaked cherry that has been slowly infusing on your table. With the different cooking times required, this is a sign of a kitchen that can operate like clockwork. The combination of the meat and fish together, no doubt, added a degree of complexity to the flavours of the final creation.
There is a growing trend of using vegetables for dessert courses, and it is no exception at ACCENTS. Their use of onions and mustard for their first dessert course might be controversial, but it shows a young kitchen team unafraid of bold creations. The more popular dessert is their signature dish, the sugar bubble. It is an enticing combination of green tomatoes, cashew nuts, and basil. It is light, has great textural variety, and cleanses your palate rather than leaving you with an overly sweet ending. This is the only dish they never remove from their tasting menus.
The décor is welcoming and unostentatious. You will see pastel-coloured flower paintings placed on window ledges and there is a distressed tree branch displayed that adds more of a Scandinavian vibe. The standout is the origami crane art installation at the entrance. A Japanese legend says once you’ve folded your 1000th crane, your dreams will come true. That must have been the case for Ayumi, as it is quite the achievement to hold a Michelin-starred restaurant in the city of light.
Factbox
Address: 24 Rue Feydeau, 75002 Paris, France
Phone: +33 1 40 39 92 88
Website: accents-restaurant.com
