Paris Restaurants - The Rise of the Baby Bistro
In a past incarnation, Christian Constant was the three-star chef at
Le Crillon before opening his own very elegant bistro, the Violin d'Ingres
on rue St-Dominique. Since then, he seems to have taken over half the
street...
The Telegraph UK
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Crazy about the Cocottes
How does one restaurant manage to stand out in a formidable food city
like Paris? Ask Christian Constant. Dinner in his elegant Le Violon
d'Ingres included sauteed cod filet set in a veritable vegetable garden;
a confit of foie gras with pureed figs; sweet scallops playing games
with bitter oranges; and, for dessert, whimsical pommes souffles served
with lighter-than-air mousse and hot chocolate sauce. Along with the
food, it was the warm welcome, gracious service and lack of pretension
that set Le Violon d'Ingres apart from other Paris temples of haute
cuisine
Maureenclancy.com
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Christian Constant Légion d'Honneur BUZZ
"I was in the bath, the phone rang and they told me I was getting the Legion d'Honneur, I nearly drowned",
said Christian Constant last night at Le Bristol, Paris. All clean and very handsome in a three-piece Ralph Lauren
whistle and flute (suit), the talented chef had the Ordre de Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur pinned on his lapel
in a moving cermony led by Jean-Luc Petitrenaud....
Bonjour Paris
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Christian Constant Featured on NPR's Morning Edition
Who Says French Food Can't Be Friendly?
Think of "fine French cuisine" and you imagine pressed linen
tablecloths, a lineup of wine glasses, tuxedoed waiters ferrying trays
of oysters or silver-domed serving dishes. It's an experience that has
persisted for generations: formal, classical and expensive.
But the definition of the quintessential French dining experience is
evolving, thanks in part to one Paris chef...
National Public Radio
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Les
Cocottes on Discover Paris!
Christian Constant, Michelin-star chef and owner of four acclaimed restaurants on rue Saint-
Dominique, fondly remembers his mother’s cooking. Perched atop one of the tall chairs that
punctuate the dining area of Les Cocottes, he recently told us that it was she who taught him
the traditions of southwestern French cooking in the kitchen of their home in the town of
Montauban. From the age of around 8 years, he knew that he wanted to enter into the
culinary profession. And because his parents insisted that he take violin, he incorporated the
instrument into this childhood dream, deciding that one day he would call his restaurant "Le
Violin d'Ingres." (Born in the same town as Constant, France’s illustrious 19th century painter
Jean-August-Dominique Ingres also had a passion for the violin. The French colloquialism
"Le Violin d'Ingres" has come to mean "second calling.")
Discover Paris!
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Les
Cocottes de Christian Constant
Les Cocottes often gets described as a local version of an American-style
diner. I don't know if that's true. For one thing, everyone speaks
French. And for another, there were no snappy apron-clad waitresses
pouring bottomless cups of coffee, no trucks parked outside, and
no plumber-cracks hanging over the backside of the stools. After
all, this is Paris, ya' know.
In fact, Les Cocottes sits on a pretty prestigious piece of land,
in the seventh arrondissement, not known for good-value restaurants,
or truckers. But Les Cocottes is a good value, and what makes it
even better, the food is worth every centime.
David Lebovitz
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Les Cocottes: Palme d'Or de la Restauration
Leaders Club France 2008
Bonjours
Paris
If you're looking for a gift (Thanksgiving/Birthday/Christmas) you
need La Maison Constant cookery books.
It's a no-brainer as you probably lunch/dine chez Constant at least
once a week. If not why not? Four cookery books, one for each of
his maisons, packed in a gorgeous "town-house" box with
stunning photos by uber-snapper Clay McLachlan. "The idea of
putting the books in a house came because we now have four on rue
Saint Dominique", explained Christian Constant on a warm autumn
day last week. Regulars are calling it rue Constant!"
Book well ahead for Les Cocottes, where chef Philippe
Cadeau creates soothing dishes in Staub casseroles (spot Monsieur
Staub, often there, looking proud of his pots). Le Violon d'Ingres,
Constant's Brasserie Chic, features Stephane Schmidt at the piano,
but CC always with his finger on the tiller in each maison.
Go fishing with chef Sebastien Grave for some incredible poisson
(not expensive) at the cosy Fables de la Fontaine
and, from breakfast to dinner, Café Constant
stars the talented Eduardo Jacinto revising and correcting Madame
Irene's (the original owner) delicious bistro plats. And shhhh...
rumour has it that "Les Marmites" launches before long.
The genuine London “taxi-fumeur” parked in front of
Violon, is for clients, like CC who appreciate a nice cigar, "call
it a mobile fumoir", he grins. The guy’s a marvel, the
marvel from Montaubon.
Saveur Magazine
Violon d'Ingres is the French term for hobby... It is clear from
the food that Constant serves in his cool, small, elongated dining
room, with it's details from Ingres in terra-cotta red on the walls,
that this is no mere hobby for him. His mastery becomes immediately
apparent with an amuse-gueule of thick, rich Jerusalem artichoke
soup enhanced with tiny butter-fried croutons and melting cubes
of foie gras, a dish at once rustic and opulent...
Sampling these and other typical Constant creations - from turbot
roasted with chestnuts and truffled celeriac to foie gras pan-fried
in a coating of gingerbread crumbs with quince preserves - I realize
that, however fresh his ideas are, they are firmly grounded in rural
French gastronomy. Constant's cooking is elevated not by some promiscuous
"creativity" that mixes every flavor under the sun but by his obvious
understanding of classic raw materials and by the sure-handedness
of his technique.
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Christian Constant
in the Japanese Media
The word is out. See Christian Constant's profile in a Japanese magazine.
Notes & Comments
Violon d'Ingres on the rue Saint-Dominique in the 7th arrondissement
is everything I've been looking for in a classic French restauraunt.
Excitingly vivid flavors in a creative treatment of traditional
French cuisine. Very friendly staff. Quiet atmosphere in a long
narrow room that gives you a sense of intimacy and privacy. I love
this place.
The San Diego Tribune
On a short list of "Reasons to Visit Paris This Year," Le Violon
d'Ingres is right up there with the Eiffel Tower and Mona Lisa.
This elegant yet warmly welcoming restaurant is the baby of Christian
Constant, one of the city's most talented, most trend-setting chefs.
The simple chicken from the farms of Bresse is simply superb - plump,
tender, and served with sensational fried potatoes the crusty cloaked
sea bass with sweet almonds and tart capers play games with our
tongues. Desserts are no less dazzling: a buttery apricot cookie
topped with tangy Fromage blanc (white cheese) ice cream; puffy
pommes soufflés with hot chocolate sauce; and a bittersweet chocolate
tart that's the stuff dreams are made of. Come to think of it I'd
put Constant's sautéed scallops with endive and bitter orange ahead
of the Eiffel Tower on that list.
Bonjours Paris
Chef Constant is a genius at delivering the purist of tastes in
his dishes. Scallops are served in a couple of ways, but the essence
of this mollusk is revealed in an appetizer cooked to a soft silky
perfection and framed in salt, butter, and parsley. Give this dish
an 11 on a scale of 1 - 10.