41. Restaurant Septime

Should any of you foodies out there be thinking that you might add restaurant No.49 in the world to your bucket list, go ahead I can recommend it. Here are the details.

Septime

80 rue de Charonne, Paris 75011

Chef Bertrand Grebaut

Menu carte blanche 55 euros pp

Fromages 8 euros pp

Ph 0143 673 829

Menu carte blanche means that the choice is theirs, not yours.  Cheese is additional.

Rustic and relaxed.

Aperitif - Champagne Cumières Premier Cru - Georges Laval 12 euros

Fish entree of Bonito tuna, samphire, whipped ricotta, micro rocket and a couple of drips of hazlenut oil. Stunning.

Our wine of choice was something different, well different for us. It is not often that we would opt for a pinot but after a lengthy discussion with the sommelier, we decided on something from the Jura region of France and a pinot it was.

"Thin, astringent, not great.  But we had to try it because we'd never had anything from the Jura," said Australian tourist Paul Savi when interviewed later.

Vegetable entree of pan seared butter lettuce on an egg yolk with a cube of ham, crutons and grated blue cheese.  A stunning creation.

Fish main of turbot, baby turnips, baby onions, acacia flowers, sicilian lemon and pan seared asparagus. Melt in the mouth yummy.

Meat main of duck, baby carrots, baby snap peas, pan seared fennel and a sauce of reduced olive tapanade.  The best duck I have ever tasted.

Fromage - sorry I forgot the photo. A fabulous fresh, tangy goats cheese as well as a firm cheese similar to a Compte.

Palate cleanser - Herb ice-cream made with aniseed, fennel and verbena served with a little brown sugar crumble.

And finally desert.  Gooseberry ice-cream with French strawberries, a slip of white chocolate meringue and elder flowers.

Chef Grebaut was supervising in the kitchen all night but I couldn't get a photo despite letting it be known that I'd attended his masterclass at the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival with Stephanie Alexander earlier this year.  He wasn't to know that Stephanie and I had only met that morning.  This is the maitre d.  He obviously has no influence with his boss.

Meet Lei and Ben from New York. Charming people, great dinner companions.  Ben did something with hedge funds in a bank but wants to move into art transactions abroad. And as if that wasn't enough ....... Lei emigrated alone from China aged 18 and now worked "as a rep in the chemical industry - no longer in a laboratory".  Imagine what that might mean!  Paul called her a drug dealer - luckily she laughed.