Mathieu van Wetteren is a chef that is continuing to explore all the possibilities of this profession, sharpening his technique and toning down his originality along the way. We had the pleasure of rediscovering his gourmet capuchon of prawns topped with a browned butter emulsion. The marvellous prawn broth poured over a light eel chawanmushi took us into an equally delicious umami universe. His penchant for exploring the potential of barbecuing introduced us to smoked mussels on a revisited French toast, and a perfectly cooked pigeon topped with a beautifully intense sauce. For dessert, whether scented sweet vernal grass or vanilla, it is always the variation of caramel, at times with Jerusalem artichokes, honey and truffle, at others simply with honey, that gives the velvety ice cream the waw factor. Another half a point and the third chef’s hat goes on.
