Auguste Awards

Auguste Restaurant Review:

Gaël Orieux, who hails from Brittany, had planned to become a Navy Seal but ended up as an apprentice at Bocuse and at Senderens. He climbed the culinary ladder at the Crillon, Taillevent and then at Le Meurice with Yannick Alléno. Orieux is a fervent believer in classical cuisine and respects Escoffier so much that he dubbed his restaurant with the first name of the pope of traditional gastronomy: Auguste. As a son of Brittany he favors fresh fish from “petits bateaux” (small trawlers returning to port every day with their catch) and vegetables from the Golden Belt of Bretagne. He uses cream and butter in moderation and ignores olive oil, preferring a rare product: the elderberries oil. No tomatoes in his pans! His forays into modernity are cautious, as in his spare use of spices to season the filleted Scottish grouse, layered with foie gras and pork meat, steam-cooked and deglazed with black whisky. The wine list is short but well-chosen and service is “kind.” The lunch prix-fixe for €37 is a real value.