A NOT SO STUFFY MICHELIN RESTAURANT

LE FLACON – CAROUGE

A NOT SO STUFFY MICHELIN RESTAURANT

Text and photographs by Caro Blackwell of Tasteofsavoie.com

It’s not everyday you get to enjoy a Michelin-starred lunch – so when you do make sure it’s a good one! Le Flacon is in Carouge; a gorgeous town within the city of Geneva and I love their style. This is not your regular stuffy Michelin restaurant… it is more in a relaxed, informal bistro style but with amazing food and exemplary service (but without too much formality)! The restaurant itself has a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere with a mix of wood and exposed brick and huge windows giving a very light and open feeling.

We let head chef Yoann Caloué choose the menu and believe me he chose well! We enjoyed the menu du chef – Menu Flacon – 4 dishes – priced at 85CHF. After having established our likes and preferences, he set to work! We even sat at the Chef’s table which meant we could watch the chefs in action plying their craft with quiet calm and natural aplomb.

AMUSE BOUCHE – PRETTY AND DELICATE

The amuse bouche, delicate looking and so pretty was marinaded sea bass with Japanese radish, yuzu and sesame. It was almost too pretty to eat.

GREAT BEGINNINGS

The first of our two starters was a beautifully presented carpaccio of scallops with black radish, orange and apple. It was stunning with subtle flavours.

Now to my stand out dish of the day – I’d go back just to have this again!

Raviolis filled with Morilles, a fresh pea purée and Beaufort cheese emulsion – the combination of flavours in this dish was heavenly. I loved that they are using ingredients from around the region as Beaufort cheese comes from the Haute Savoie and Savoie.

THE MAIN AFFAIR

On to the main dish – Pork Beer Stein – once again so elegantly presented. This was served with a caramelised onion purée, a mushroom and Vin Jaune purée, white asparagus, broad beans and the most amazing mashed/soufflé potato.

In this dish appears another French regional ingredient – The Vin Jaune specific to the Jura and Franche Comte area. When I visited Besancon, I got to taste this special wine.

NOT ONE BUT TWO DESSERTS!

To follow was a pre-dessert – this is clearly a thing? It was a delicious thing…

Having watched the chef create this in front of me – I knew there was a lemon sorbet hiding beneath the foam of Timut pepper which was topped with spéculos. Again great flavours together. Timut pepper is a Nepalese pepper with grapefruit flavours and the cold spiciness of the Sichuan pepper to which it is related.

And for dessert was a fresh lemon tart with an incredible basil sorbet and a Limoncello sabayon.

CHEF YOANN CALOUÉ

Chef Yoann Caloué is from Normandy in France and has been at Le Flacon since it opened in 2012 and has been head chef for the last four years.

Yoann Caloué is a young passionate chef who has a taste for the produce of the land and the sea. Authenticity guides his creativity, serving a cuisine full of energy and freshness.

From France to Switzerland via England and the United States, Yoann Caloué gained his culinary experiences at the service of renowned restaurants, and worked alongside great chefs such as Thierry Duhamel, Claude Bosi and Joël Robuchon. He was awarded his first Michelin star and a 15/20 by Gault et Millau with the restaurant Le Flacon in October 2015 at just 31 years old.

MENU D’AFFAIRES

There is a a menu d’affaires (business menu) served from Tuesday – Friday at lunchtimes which is a great way to experience Michelin starred cooking without a high price. The Menu d’affaires is priced at CHF38 for a three-course lunch.

Le Flacon has a small upstairs gallery area which seats 20 people and would make a great venue for a private dinner. During the warmer months there is a terrace outside where you can eat and soak up the atmosphere of the gorgeous town of Carouge.