International
Julien DUMAS
Behind his good-natured demeanor lies a taste for fantasy, almost mischief. We imagine him as a child, a bit of a prankster, resourceful and diligent. Julien Dumas is all of these things, and above all a talented young chef.
For Gault&Millau, the revelation of a future progression took place curiously, during a meal that some might consider a failure. This was well after a first trophy, that of Grand de Demain, won in 2015 by this chef trained at the Ducasse and Maximin schools, rubbing shoulders notably with Jean-François Piège at the Crillon. The venerable Lucas Carton had opened his doors to him, where he showed technique, skill and confidence, but not yet much of himself. During the discussions we had after that meal, we sensed a very positive reflection on his part, constructive doubt, and a great deal of desire and motivation. A few months later, he left the Place de la Madeleine for the Saint James.
Something clicked, or rather, progress was almost inevitable for those who want to move forward. At the Bellefeuille, the gastro restaurant in this luxury townhouse between avenues Foch and Victor-Hugo, Julien was given carte blanche. He quickly set up a vegetable garden close to Paris, aiming for self-sufficiency for his pantry, regulating supplies according to seasonality, and controlling the chain from A to Z. As a corollary, he finds a new freedom, a fertile impetus for a cuisine whose every dish now bears his monogram.
At Le Lucas, he had stayed at 3 toques. At Le Saint James, the 4th fell to him in 2022... The big boys' club is now open to this young man who learned about Brittany on vacation as a child, breathing in the sea spray, listening to the song of the cockles, watching the currycomb. Today, not only does he accept, but he imposes his sensibility, letting his desires, memories and marine poetry express themselves. He invents a "high seas" dish in which each guest goes fishing for his or her own ocean memories, and dresses a spider crab in haute couture: rice cooked in spider juice, flesh and eggs, a coral purée with smoked chili, the interior in sabayon...
In the demands he makes of himself, sometimes going so far that few can keep up, lies the seed of a champion. There's something of Arnaud Donckele in this desire to surpass the product itself by getting to the heart of the matter, to the quintessence of flavor. It's the same desire that drives him to make four different broths for his red mullet, to create two condiments, one with the liver - a red wine vinegar and garlic - and the other with the liver. red wine vinegar and new garlic - and the other with medlar, saffron and chili pepper, using both for this astonishing, visceral and telluric dish.
Gault&Millau d'Or in 2023, 4 toques confirmed, an improvement again this year: don't think these accolades will change him. He'll always have that human element of questioning that helps him to want the best, while already offering many certainties.
M.E.
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