The Hémicycle project appears ambitious from the start, as it was presented in the summer of 2023 by Stéphane Manigold, patron of the Eclore group. The self-made chef manager is now a reference in Parisian dining: after Granite and Substance, Braise, Contraste, Liquide, Bistrot Flaubert, and Maison Rostang, he has focused on the Roman Flavio Lucarini, who has been in France for eight years. Flavio and Aurora are the ideal figures to communicate a formal and substantial rejuvenation of French cuisine in Paris, with classic bases, great technique, and a lot of future. In the sensitivity of this extraordinary couple, there is the whole world of natural smells and flavors that enter and cross the preparations. Hierarchies are skipped, because seafood, meat, and vegetables are equal in the dishes, in a strict sequence recommended even by those who have an eye on health. The balance of the dish, a true obsession of French classicism, is blatantly ignored, but acidity and bitterness are not ends to be displayed and exaggerated, but rather themes to be measured. The comfort food moment is not missing, as it should be, represented for example by the stuffed quail. The revolution in savory is even more exalted in Aurora’s dessert: here the perspective is further overturned compared to classicism, not only for the theme of “not sweet sweet”, but also for the material components that enter this section, played in an incredibly natural and effective way. In conclusion, this is definitely one of the places to observe the cuisine of the future.

Photo Credits: Thomas Dhellemmes