Francia – Parigi
We first noticed him on Top Chef Season 12, with his original, colourful dishes and his precise, work-of-art-style preparation.
Freed from this television straitjacket, the prodigy Thomas Chisholm has opened his restaurant Chocho to offer us bold, reasoned cuisine in a warm setting.
Large wooden tables, an open kitchen, fermenting jars of fruit and vegetables on shelves that catch the eye of diners.
As soon as we arrived, we opted for a seat at the counter, close to the Chef’s team of smiling, hard-working young chefs.
The menu is based on the Catalan model, with Tapas-style plates in reference to the Chef’s origins as a sharing chef.
We begin our culinary experience with two starters, one vegetable, carrot glazed with orange, pistachio emulsion, sumac, perfectly mastered, the carrot, just crunchy on the outside and melting on the inside, is a comforting and almost regressive dish thanks to its combination of original and explosive flavours.
The other, more iodised starter, poached oysters with bacon fat, charcuterie vinegar and preserved lemon, impresses us with its delicacy and boldness. A real explosion on the palate, with a perfect balance and the freshness provided by the lemon to delight the palate.
We were impatient to get to the main courses, given the demanding nature of the dishes we had just tasted…
First course: confit potatoes, spring garlic sauce, pommes pailles, trout roe, combining sweetness and character, power and generosity. Then comes the second course, veal liver with modern parsley, a truly creative work of art in which the meat has been carefully hidden by a sort of vegetable and floral crumble that invites you to savour it. The cooking of the veal liver is perfectly mastered, and the flavour is assertive and pronounced – a real treat.
Finally, we end with one of the 3 desserts on the menu, the Happy Hour, made with Malt, beer and peanuts, an absolute favourite! Once again, the combinations are daring but perfectly mastered – great art.
Chocho
54, Rue de Paradis
75010 Parigi
Antoine Blanc