Ihe 30-year-old Franco-Israeli chef, Matan Zaken, trained with stars, opened a tailor-made meal agency before inaugurating his own restaurant, Nhome, in Paris in September 2022. An atypical space, with a unique table and menu, which does not hide its gastronomic ambitions.
“This eel-onion dish synthesises everything I love. The smoky taste of eel that reminds me of my childhood in Jerusalem, where the little fish I ate was salted meat. The onion is because I love cooking old school French broths, and onion soups in particular.
Until recently, I combined onion and eel with foie gras. When the weather returned, I replaced it with fennel. At the moment, the smoked eel is accompanied by an onion and fennel ice cream with a splash of pastis. The onion broth is infused with eel, and I add a little rice vinegar for the umami and some aniseed agastache leaves.
My unique menu changes completely every two months, except for this dish, with which I have a long-term relationship. We manage to support each other since the opening of the restaurant and customer feedback has always been very strong. It has become our signature, but I have an obsession for renewal. There is something more instinctive when you make a dish the first few times, an emotional side when you listen to the first feedback… over time, that gets lost.
A vibe on the plate
At first, I wanted the map to change every week, but it was too complicated with the teams. I forced myself to calm down, but still half-reluctantly. Smoked eel, I still manage to vibrate when I make it. Sometimes I try to change the dressing, to twist it a bit. Sometimes I do little free-styles for regulars.
At each start of service, I am in mode “Wow, this is going to be crazy!” Every time the first client comes in, I get a little stressed. And that, I don’t want to lose. It allows there to be a vibe on the plate. If this energy leaves me because I’m in a bad mood, it can have a lot of negative impact on the teams. In the restaurant, it is the human being who does everything. I did three years of military service in Israel, and I learned team spirit there. We need each other, we succeed together, we die together. I transpose this to the kitchen. A service, if we mess it up, it’s all together, and, as a chef, I take responsibility for it.
You have 23.95% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.