It is a restaurant in capitals that wants to be a capital restaurant. ADMO, four letters to sum up a casting: Adrià, Ducasse and Meder in the Shadows. The acronym does not exude humility. But at the time of the starisation of chefs, it does not surprise either, and has the merit of posing the singularity of this extraordinary project. Because if giving the name of a chef to a restaurant, even ephemeral, is already not so common, bring together three in one edition all stars, This is unheard of. Especially when the members of this culinary “super-group” embody – a priori – distant gastronomic schools.
We no longer present Alain Ducasse, the unsinkable culinary entrepreneur with 18 stars, participating in the French gastronomic influence abroad (ADMO is also placed “Under the high patronage of Emmanuel Macron”). Romain Meder is the virtuoso chef who managed, on his behalf, the stoves at the Plaza Athénée, in Paris. Both defend “naturalness”: a cuisine that excludes meat to rely on vegetables, cereals and fish. Albert Adrià, meanwhile, was part of the El Bulli adventure, in Catalonia, and created five restaurants in Barcelona (Tickets, Enigma …) today closed because of the Covid-19. He is still associated in France with molecular cuisine, of which his big brother, Ferran Adrià, was one of the most famous heralds.
Promoter of gastronomy inspired by distant horizons (Japan, Mexico …), Albert Adrià is also passionate about vegetable cuisine today, as evidenced by the book he published this summer: Vegetales a todo color (RBA Libros, 224 pages, 19.95 euros). Philosophically, this food with six hands therefore makes sense: heavyweights do not fight in the kitchen, they fight shoulder to shoulder for greener dishes.
A place worthy of the trio was needed. And it was Les Ombres (taken over by Ducasse in 2017) that was chosen. The establishment is perched in a glass case on a roof terrace in the Quai Branly garden, and gives the dizzying impression of sitting down with the Eiffel Tower. The staff is plethora: 78 employees, almost as many cooks and servers as guests (85 seats).
We can only imagine the budget for the operation, which nobody wanted to communicate to us. But it is important. Enough for ADMO to be presented as a “Co-production” with Dom Pérignon. The fine bubbles brand has bet big to offer a tempting showcase for its Rosé Vintage 2008 (a keel that costs around 300 euros), offered during the meal. International stars, neat decor, staff and budget worthy of a peplum, product placement (Lavazza and Kaviari, among others, are also partners): this is no longer a restaurant that Alain Ducasse puts on the scene, it is a blockbuster.
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