I DAVID TOUTAIN I VOEUX I GASTRONOMIE I GUIDE MICHELIN I

My dad would have deeply appreciated the dinner I had at Restaurant David Toutain in Paris’s 7th Arrondissement. Before he retired, he was a landscape architect with a limitless knowledge and passion for nature. I knew I had to channel him into my dining experience when I saw Toutain’s menu mantra, Tous les goûts sont dans La Nature. Each dish delivered was a unique micro-habitat with its own exquisite environment, tastes and textures.

Unfortunately, my dad couldn’t join me in person because he’s in the advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease. No longer able to eat or drink, he gets his medications, nutrients and calories through a feeding tube. It’s a cruel reality especially since he loved to eat everything - from greasy, salty fast food to delicately prepared fine food. At one point, he understandably hit the wall and wanted to just let go. The day afterwards though, without explanation, he pulled himself back from the brink and is still blessing us with his jokes, loving eyes and warm hugs.

Stripped of almost everything most of us think we can’t live without, my dad somehow found another goût de la vie dans la nature. As a diner, he would sadly put David Toutain, all the other exceptional chefs and basically the whole food industry out of business. As a human being, on the other hand, he is an inspiration for survival, family, friendship and our connection to the infinite beauty and diversity of life - everything you’ll also discover in David Toutain’s fascinating and delicious culinary landscapes.

Published simultaneously on the blog Martini. Shaken, not stirred.