Lunch at Saturne

Who would have thought that Sven Chartier, the hottest chef in Paris at the moment, was a Scrabble geek?  That the 24 year old Arpege and Racines trained chef came up with the name SATURNE (God of Wine, and anagram of NATURES) during a heated session of the board game, or at least he confessed to me yesterday with a twinkle in his eye. Almost the same childish look that he gets when he talks about his philosophy of cooking:no additives, no preservatives, no sauces, no spices, nothing out of season or imported. Simple, natural. Period. Although the foodie blogosphere's bandwagon- jumping made him the flavour of the month, and filled his tables for the last three months,  Sven hasn't had the time to refine his philosophy or put it into action, and his kitchen team isn't nearly ready. He is very excited about becoming fully self sufficient and is putting the touches on his very own garden(s) and within a few months should be coming up with some very interesting things. Sven also seems to be very interested in others aligned with the same philosophy, especially Magnus Ek, and spoke of a recent meal at Rene Redzepi's Noma, which he enjoyed. For someone who hasn't hit 25 yet,  this chef has got me more excited than pretty much anyone lately. And when he takes that pilgrimmage to his Grandfather's homeland to explore his culinary roots, gets the experience he's looking for and has a team working in perfect harmony, he's going to kick some gastronomic ass and probably usher in an important new trend.

PS The natural wines impressed us less, and Ewen, Sven's partner in crime seemed a bit more reserved and less voluble than the chef..

                                                    Raw scallops, citrus

                                                    Raw sardine, salmon eggs

                                                    Leeks, radish, smoked mussels

Morteau sausage and mash