I dined at La Vague d’Or, Chef Arnaud Donckele’s restaurant in Saint Tropez, and was awed by the luxury, setting, and presentations. However, I was unsure whether it was merely a sophisticated and good restaurant or a truly great one. I had reserved my judgment, but was interested in trying it again. The second time occurred in Paris at Plénitude, inside the Cheval Blanc hotel, where Arnaud Donckele was personally cooking. I concluded that he is indeed a highly skilled chef, and the restaurant is deserving of its three Michelin stars. However, I am still uncertain about his distinctive style and contribution to cuisine. He left me with the impression that he is still searching for his place among the great cuisiniers of France. While he may not have reached that pinnacle yet, given his young age, goodwill, and evident talent, he has the potential to achieve a higher level in the future. I also appreciate the fact that he is making an effort to bring “sauces” back to French cuisine in an era when many young chefs mimic trendy Scandinavian trends.
His dishes are all good to very good. The restaurant makes a great effort to make sure that clients understand the nature and composition of each dish, including the amuses. To this end, detailed written descriptions are provided. Romantic titles are accorded to each tidbit that is served before the appetizers. For instance, a single snail is served in a bowl containing wild herbs and flowers. They also bring snail bouillon in a glass and call it “rosee de printemps”, the spring dew. The broth contains snail essence flavored by dried duck breast jus, onion, fennel, Roma tomatoes, celery, ginger infusion, lemongrass, star anise, chardonnay and pastis reduction, yuzu juice, fresh fennel essence, olive oil, lemon peel, and Maniguette pepper.


If the complexity of the bouillon is mind boggling, the composition of sauces or infusions that accompany various appetizers and main courses are more so. After we composed our menu, they gave us a handout of sauces for each separate course. Donckele’s take on sauces, or more accurately his French style dashi, worked well with the seafood dishes. For example, the “Vinaigrette Ambroise” went well with crab and white asparagus as the salinity of the seafood stock, acidity of lime, bitterness of grapefruit and sweetness of pine honey made a balanced sauce with depth and highlighted the sweet crab and earthy white asparagus. The chef likes fresh, bright, aromatic citrus with seafood, but he balances the acidity with other elements. “Cornaline” vinaigrette, composed of several citrus fruits, herbs, bergamot oil, white balsamic, cucumber juice, etc; and thickened by langoustine broth and its corral, was served with the langoustine. “Velours D’Eden”, a sauce that reminded me of Spanish salpicon (the best lobster salpicon was at Ibai in Donostia), was served with grilled and de-boned sardines. In the handout they provided, the ingredients of “Velours D’Eden” dashi are listed as “grilled sardines, escabeche fumet, Lambrusco vinegar, bonito vinegar, lemon juice, tarragon infused olive oil, egg yoke, Callas mustard, fennel brunoise, Maniguette pepper.” I bet a great ramen master in Japan may get an idea or two from Donckele’s broths.

We continued with two of my favorite seafoods: rouget fish and Spanish red shrimp from Palamos. For the former the dashi he pours on the dish is called “Bravade”. The use of pastis and cognac together with rock fish fumet, sea urchin essence, and citrus fruits reminded me of a very tasty and original bouillabaisse broth, and honestly I would have loved to dip their excellent crusty bread to mop up the “Bravade” sauce. Bravo!

The other dashi served with the red shrimp, “Sabayon Procope”, was equally tasty and also Mediterranean inspired. Donckele also used a Pinot Noir reduction here, possibly thinking a pairing it with red wine.
I had the following thoughts after tasting these dishes. The rich and complex sauces were all very good and balanced. The chef did a very good job differentiating them, i.e. they all had different aromatic profiles and taste, well-tailored to the seafood they accompanied. We liked all of them, but especially the rouget dish, photographed above, and gave it a perfect score.
The langoustine and red shrimp were also very good. The langoustine was served with artichoke and Buddha hand citrus fruit. The red shrimp was served with bergamote and asparagus. The combinations were good, but the quantity of the shellfish was the problem. They serve half portions, but then there is too much sauce for the tiny bit of seafood. To illustrate this point, I am including a langoustine photo. One needs at least double, if not triple the amount of langoustine tails to truly appreciate this dish. Small portions work for some restaurants, such as La Table du Verjus, reviewed below, but they work less well with Donckele’s style. If Donckele is bringing back complex sauces of Escoffier cuisine, he should also be more generous with his portions to complete the picture.

Still, I enjoyed the seafood dishes, but was less convinced with the meat. We tried both lamb and pigeon. The lamb was served with spring vegetables and edible flowers, and the pigeon was with a little tart stuffed with giblets and herbs. The “Jus Delicatesse” sauce with the pigeon and the “Ecole Buissionniere” jus with the lamb somehow tasted quite similar and lacked complexity despite the 10+ ingredients used in each. For instance, the sauce for pigeon counts smoked anchovy and olives among its constituents, but I could not taste the umami dimension in the sauce which lacked depth. I also found the lamb and the pigeon to be good quality, but a bit simple. The level was on par with what you find in high-end bistros in Paris. Somehow, they need more work to bring meat dishes on par with the seafood offerings.
The restaurant seems to have an excellent cheese course, but we were too full to try it. We liked the rhubarb dessert with Beaume de Venise sweet wine and excellent vanilla extract.
EVALUATION: 17.5/20