Virtuoso Life - November/December 2017 - 89
JEAN-GEORGES VONGERICHTEN EATS HIS VEGGIES As one of the world's most famous restaurateurs, as well as a cookbook author, TV personality, and Michelin-starred and James Beard Award-winning chef, Jean-Georges Vongerichten oversees a constellation of restaurants that stretch from São Paulo to Shanghai, with his newest hot spots just opened in New York and London. Vongerichten's preferred pied-à-terre. "The Connaught was where I stayed in 1985 when I first visited London and since then has remained my favorite hotel in the world," the chef says. Casual, contemporary Jean-Georges at The Connaught opened last summer, with all-day dining that puts fresh produce center stage. Try breakfast shakes and juices, Asian dishes such as crispy salmon sushi, and revamped British classics like fish-andchips with petits pois rémoulade. A chocolate, peanut, and caramel dessert at JeanGeorges at The Connaught. What food trend are you excited about? I have always maintained a highly plant-based diet, with animal protein in moderation. This is the way I grew up eating, and I am excited to see that this clean-eating trend has resurfaced in the last few years. Recently, I opened abcV, a vegetarian restaurant in New York City. We started with breakfast and lunch, and slowly worked our way into dinner service. My favorite breakfast item on our menu is kitchari, an Indian dish made of lentils, vegetables, and turmeric. Other restaurants with plant-based menus that you enjoy? One of my favorite restaurants in Paris is L'Arpège. Chef Alain Passard keeps a garden and features a vegetable tasting menu. What I love is how the vegetables are the stars of the menu. A standout dish is his beetroot baked in a gray-salt crust. I recently visited Granger & Co. in London and enjoyed their breakfast, specifically their almond milk-chia seed pot and their fresh juices. It's great to see this clean eating/vegetarian trend has caught on worldwide. When you're on the road, what type of food and dining experiences do you look for? When I travel, I seek out local cuisine and farmers' markets because they immerse me in the culture. I like to visit as many places as possible to see what is new, what is grown locally, and what they are doing differently. PULL UP A CHAIR: The Connaught, one of London's oldest and most prestigious hotels, is m David Chang Momofuku The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas m Tom Colicchio Craftsteak MGM Grand Las Vegas m Mathias Dahlgren Matbaren and Rutabaga Grand Hôtel, Stockholm m Hélène Darroze Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, The Connaught, London N OV E M B E R | D EC E M B E R 2 0 17 89
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