Photography by Laurence Mouton

Restaurant:  Walking into Parisian restaurant Guy Savoy is like entering an art gallery. Paintings line the walls and sculptures sit incased in glass cabinets. The food’s exquisite flavor and design display another kind of artwork.  Among many other accolades, Guy Savoy’s nouvelle cuisine has earned the establishment three Michelin stars.  The influential French restaurant guide Gault Millau awarded Chef Guy Savoy five toques.

Chef:  Guy Savoy was “determined to be a chef, and nothing else.”  At age 15, he began  apprenticeships and training with a French chocolate maker. From there he worked and trained in numerous restaurants. In 1980, Guy Savoy opened his eponymous restaurant in Paris. He earned his first Michelin star a year later, a second in 1985, and a third in 2002. Named one of Europe’s top chefs by LuxuryTravel.com, Guy Savoy owns five other restaurants--three in Paris, one in Las Vegas, and one on an exotic island, The Pearl-Qatar. In addition to Chef Savoy’s culinary awards, he received the title of Officer of the Légion d’Honneur from the President of France.

Butter:   Glass dishes in numerous hues and sizes grace each table. Custom-made by Parisian glass artist Laurent Beyne, these delicate receptacles resemble water droplets, each cradling a different ingredient. Two hold butter: Maison Bordier salted butter and unsalted butter from Normandy. The other dishes present flake salt from Brittany, Malaysian pepper, and votive candles.

Commentary:   “Butter is King,” says Chef Savoy. “I consider butter as one of the main ingredients of French cooking, providing that it is used at the right moment and at the right temperature; that means fresh or cooked butter but never burnt.” Chef Savoy cherishes the flavor of butter. “Butter is like wine,” he says, “with many different flavors. Every region has its distinct flavor.” One of Chef Savoy’s favorite ways to eat butter is to place  “very cold butter on grilled bread with a sardine in oil, or some radishes on the top.”