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Mélanie Serre grew up in Ardèche, in a family that cooked straight from the vegetable garden and where her father hunted; a childhood she still credits as a major influence on her cooking. She later left the region for hotel school, spent time at Eden Rock in Saint-Barthélemy, and then joined Joël Robuchon’s teams in Paris, working alongside him for several years before taking the helm of her own kitchens. At Temple & Chapon, Experimental Group handed her a rather different challenge: reinventing the New York chophouse, that American institution where meat traditionally takes center stage. The menu travels without apology: cuts of beef, crab cakes, lobster rolls, whole fish, and apple pie meet a more French style of cooking, driven by seasonal produce.
Around it all, Tristan Auer heightens the drama with glass ceilings, wood paneling, banquettes, and white tablecloths inside Experimental Marais. And because simple decor was clearly not enough, the hotel even has its own imaginary hero: together with artist Clovis Retif, Auer invented Henri Evelyn Marcel, a fictional traveler and collector whose souvenirs dot the space. His character borrows from figures as diverse as Charles Denner, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Peter Beard, and Philip Glass.
Taste
Experimental Marais · Experimental Group · Mélanie Serre · Tristan Auer · Clovis Retif · Paris · Le Marais · Rue du Temple · Ardèche · New York · New York chophouse
