During the holiday season, the best place to get a dose of yuletide cheer is inside the Paris palace hotels. Sumptuous decor, sparkling lights, and creative bûches de Noël (yule logs) by talented pastry chefs… There's a lot to ward off the wintry weather. At the Four Seasons George V in Paris, artistic director Jeff Leatham’s floral arrangements and fairytale holiday decorations are stars of Instagram. But besides the talked-about seasonal decor, there’s another reason to head to 31 avenue George V: Did somebody say lunch in Paris?
Not only does the Four Seasons George V have one of the city’s best wine cellars (stocked with 50,000 bottles), but it was also recently recognized as the first luxury hotel in Europe with three Michelin-starred restaurants (for a total of five stars). To celebrate, the palace hotel opened a “five-star courtyard” for sunny al fresco dining during the warmer months, soon followed by a glamorous open-air table at Le Cinq, the three-starred gastronomic restaurant helmed by chef Christian Le Squer. It’s a privileged spot overlooking the marble courtyard, hidden away behind a wall of purple orchids and dressed in Baccarat crystal.
On the occasion, Luxury Travel Advisor spoke with Le Squer after an impressive lunch. The perfectionistic chef spends a tremendous amount of time on R&D in the kitchen, evolving and adapting traditional cuisine into a contemporary gastronomic experience. (Take for example, the classic French onion soup, which is completely reinvented: tiny pearl onions arranged on a plate, each mouthful a burst of soup flavors. Or tartare de boeuf, which the chef fashioned completely out of the finest seasonal tomatoes for a heart-healthy appetizer with no meat.) “It’s all about creativity now, new flavors, a constant evolution,” Le Squer said, comparing gastronomic cuisine to haute couture.
By next May 2018, the Four Seasons George V is planning to unveil a brand new spa (and we’re waiting with bated breath). In the meantime, as we reported last year, the hotel has opened a Jeff Leatham-designed pop-up spa on the fourth floor. Stay tuned for more details!
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