Never has a kitchen been so open to the room. Not only in the literal sense -since you can see from the Show Devant room (Villejuif, Val-de-Marne) the cooks busying themselves, just behind the counter- but also because Olivier Chaput, the hyperactive, creative and ethics that we found in particular in "A chef at my door" on Gulli, goes through the tables to talk about his cooking and his commitments with you (for children and for the fight against breast cancer, in particular) and that he even invites you into the kitchen, every last Wednesday of the month, to help you discover the life of the stoves and to have you served in the dining room a dish that you have proudly prepared.
So tonight, with my cops Marie, we went there to take in the sights…and the taste buds. Test.
The appointment is fixed at the beginning of the evening. We take line 7 of the Parisian metro, we get off at the Paul Vaillant Couturier stop and after a 5-minute walk, on a pretty square in the style of a small village, we discover between the huge media library and the theater of the city, the Show Devant , creative restaurant, which opens its doors to us. Inside, the decor is intriguing, between bistro look, retro, exotic, arty (lots of paintings on the walls), elegant, cozy, worked but without fuss.
Olivier Chaput is there, with a big smile and a little hat, going from table to table to talk with the almost fifty customers and make their mouths water:"What is the principle of the show? “, we ask him. "You'll see, I'll leave the surprise to you", replies with a mischievous air the one who is 5 years old already wanted to "make food". Instead, this enthusiast prefers to tell you about his commitment to children, which is particularly close to his heart. His mission in life? Cook dishes that make them crave, that make them melt with pleasure and that are healthy and balanced.
Moreover, by reading the menu, we discover a menu that makes you want to envy. For 38 euros, we have a gourmet, bistronomic and super healthy meal, made with fresh products by Bénédicte Van Craynest, Nutritherapist:
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Appetizer
Sea bass, ginger and basil tartare
Starters – Act I
Prawn skewer with lemongrass, crunchy mange-tout canape, tangy seed vinaigrette
Dish – Act II
Slow-cooked duck breast, Amandine potatoes and glazed seasonal vegetables
Dessert – Act III
Verrine of pumpkin with honey and cinnamon ice cream in hot and cold
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Duck breast? For a "healthy" meal? I'm waiting to see!
8:30 p.m. Olivier Chaput stands in front of the counter and presents to us, like a real showman (but more natural) the principle:every last Wednesday of the month, he invites a pro working "in the food business". Tonight, it's the turn of the Belgian Bénédicte Van Craynest, nutritionist specializing in micro-nutrition, who not only gives advice in the kitchen so that we can enjoy gourmet AND balanced dishes...but who also came to the room to answer all questions that customers have about food. She also made us discover after dessert…Rapadura, an artisanal sugar that contains twice as many vitamins and minerals as white sugar.
Olivier Chaput and Bénédicte Van Craynest
Presentations made:time for the show! First, here comes the appetizer:Sea bass, ginger and basil tartare. It's beautiful, it's colorful, it's very light and surprising – I discovered the existence of beet sprouts. Yum!
Place at the starter:the prawn skewer with lemongrass, crunchy mange-tout canape, tangy seed vinaigrette. There, it was my table neighbors who went to the kitchen to prepare the plate. I see them busying themselves behind the counter. I am intrigued and when I see the plate arrive, I am baba. Once again, it is very colorful, very light, soft and rich in flavors. Hmm…
"Are you coming into the kitchen to prepare the dish?" asks Olivier Chaput after tasting the starter. Uh… with Marie we look at each other. We are real kitchen wrecks and we are afraid of sabotaging everything. Especially since it looks good, this "slow-cooked duck breast, Amandine potatoes and glazed seasonal vegetables"! Wondering what sauce we're going to be eaten, we finally head to the kitchen, with a young girl and a teenager, who seem to be asking the same questions as us.
There, Olivier Chaput prepares a "model" plate that we will have to reproduce and then divides the tasks between us, in an ultra-relaxed atmosphere:Marie will be sought from the laying of the vegetables, me from the apple with almonds, the young girl from the "snacking » duck breasts (you have to go back and forth quickly on the hot plate) and the young man in the sauce.
We start... and it's the catamaran. Marie, hilarious, sucks even more than I thought. It is supposed to make pretty circles of vegetables but it looks more like FMNI (Unidentified Ugly Shapes) and the sauce runs all over the plate. I put the apples in the wrong corner of the plate. Fortunately, the next two manage better than us...and the plates are then taken over by real cooks.
Finally, with Marie, we gradually get the hang of it, under the advice and benevolent gaze of the team. And when we find our place, all proud, we discover this:
(Okay, I forgot the flash… But in real life, it's super pretty)
" My ancestors ! » The Gerçoise that I am, accustomed to very fatty duck breasts, discovers here… a light dish! 200g of finely cut slices, placed on heirloom vegetables glazed in the famous Rapadura for a better nutritional balance and an airy and crunchy apple. A delight!
Finally, place for dessert:"the verrine of pumpkin with honey and cinnamon ice cream in hot and cold". "Normally, I put a lot of sugar but Bénédicte Van Craynest advised me to reduce it and add a small tuile instead to bring the sweet taste", explains Olivier Chaput. That's a balanced dish. Fang!
That's it:the waltz of dishes ends. Not only did we eat four succulent dishes without even having a heavy stomach, but we also learned how to cook duck breasts well, prepare beautiful dishes and lots of clever nutritional advice, all in a good-natured atmosphere.
To (re)test!
For dishes that are both gourmet and balanced
For the color and the discoveries that make you want
For the open kitchen and the chef who chats with his customers
For the passion of the team and good humor that rules (Olivier Chaput even takes care to introduce his team at the end of the show)
For the ethical side, namely Olivier Chaput who tells us about his commitment to community life
For the creativity of the kitchen and the restaurant, which organizes many such events throughout the month
> Website. www.showdevant.fr
> Address. 38 Rue Georges Lebigot – 94800 Villejuif. M° Villejuif (line 7), stop Paul Vaillant Couturier
> Telephone. 01.49.60.61.70
> Timetable. Lunch:Monday to Saturday from 12:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.; evening:Tuesday to Saturday from 7:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
