Rougui Dia Rules the Kitchen at Le Vraymonde

I first brought you news of Rougui Dia when I launched the Entrée to Black Paris blog in September 2010. At that time, Chef Dia was head chef at Petrossian, an exclusive restaurant in the tony 7th arrondissement. She had recently published her story in a book called Le Chef est une Femme and was already thinking about moving on to a place where she would have complete creative control over the dishes emerging from the kitchen.

Chef Rougui Dia
Fast forward to February 2013. The press announced that Chef Dia was indeed moving onward and upward. She had accepted the position of head chef at the restaurant of the soon-to-be-opened Buddha Bar Hotel in an even more posh neighborhood - that of the fashion district of the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in the 8th arrondissement. Neighboring institutions and establishments include the U.S. Embassy, the British Embassy, and numerous fashion boutiques such as Hermès, Lancôme, Valentino, and Yves Saint Laurent.

The restaurant is called Le Vraymonde. In operation since June 2013, its name is a play on the French words le vrai monde ("the real world"). It is a trendy place with a seating capacity of 85, and it showcases a series of lounges in which customers can drink and dine. The walls are adorned with shades of imperial gold yellow, crimson red, and dark orange under a black lacquered ceiling lit by clusters of hand-made glass Chinese lanterns. Oversized round mirrors create subtle illusions of perspective. Each salon opens onto a beautiful and peaceful courtyard that is open for lunch and dinner from April to October.

Le Vraymonde dining room
Chef Dia's accomplishments stem from her attention to detail, her emphasis on fresh, high quality local and international products, and her constant reinvention of traditional dishes through her quest for new flavors. She describes her menu as follows:

Each dish is conceived as a new destination; a desire to share and discover. My first priority is to showcase each ingredient without denaturing or distorting it, while offering a voyage filled with flavors and aromas to the diner.

The menu evolves constantly. Chef Dia proposes eight first courses, eight main dishes, and eight desserts each day.

Tom and I dined at Le Vraymonde last Friday evening and we found that the descriptions of the sumptuous decor did not prepare us adequately for the atmosphere that we were invited to enter. Huge round mirrors on either side of the room projected the tables and walls into infinity - we felt as though we were dining in a never ending cavern of luxury.

For the starter, Tom ordered a Salade de papaye verte et mangue façon Thaï, which was a generous portion of julienned carrot and green papaya in a slightly sour sauce. I ordered Soupe carotte au lait de coco - a creamy carrot and coconut-milk soup drizzled with lime oil.

Gambas de Madagascar, cromesquis de champignons, riz vénéré
Tom chose Gambas de Madagascar, cromesquis de champignons, riz vénéré as his main course and received five jumbo shrimp and a mushroom croquette resting on a bed of black rice cooked al dente. I selected Poulet au caramel et carottes sautées à la menthe, a plate of caramelized chicken in a slightly sweet sauce served with baby carrots and turnips cooked soft, a small hot pepper, and portions of fresh lime. We both selected white wine to accompany our dishes and were thoroughly satisfied with our choices.

Desserts at Le Vraymonde are the realm of pastry chef Guy Darcel. From the eight choices on the menu, Tom ordered Baba au chocolate et whisky japonais, lait de coco aux perles du Japon. Flavored with dark chocolate and doused with Japanese whisky, it was a unique take on the traditional baba (yeast cake). I did not order dessert, but because our server could not bear to see me with an empty plate, he brought me two complimentary canelés – a classic mini-cake from Bordeaux (not on the menu).

We were greeted warmly by everyone that we encountered, including the doorman at the entrance to the hotel, and the service was outstanding from the moment that we entered the restaurant to the time that we claimed our coats to leave. The prices on the menu reflect the restaurant's location in the upscale neighborhood near La Madeleine church, but we felt that the food and the experience were worth it. We will definitely return!

Read a complete review of our dining experience on Monday, January 20 in the Paris Insights restaurant review.

All images courtesy of Laurent Guyot Communications.

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Entrée to Black Paris!™ is a Discover Paris! blog.

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The New Black Pearl of Paris

If you have not already visited Entrée to Black Paris™, WELCOME! Today marks the official launching of our blog!

Chef Rougui Dia granted Entrée to Black Paris™ an exclusive interview a few weeks ago. Read on to learn about her fascinating and inspiring story.

Cover of Rougui Dia Biography

When talking about "The Black Pearl" in relation to Paris, one thinks immediately of Josephine Baker - the African-American woman who took the city by storm in a theatrical revue and rose to stardom overnight in October 1926. In 2005, Paris discovered that it had a new "Black Pearl" who was rising to stardom as quickly as Baker did. But this time, the theater was a professional kitchen, and the woman was Franco-Senegalese instead of African-American. Her promotion to head chef at a premier restaurant in the posh 7th arrondissement caused nothing less than a media frenzy.

Rougui Dia is this 21st-century "Black Pearl." Born in Paris' 12th arrondissement, she is fourth in a family of seven siblings - two brothers and five sisters. Her parents hail from the village of N'Danno in northern Senegal, where they married and had their first two children. With the exception of two years in Senegal prior to beginning elementary school, and two months of summer vacation at age ten, she grew up in Paris and the nearby suburb of Neuilly-Plaisance. Her quiet demeanor belies the tenacity that sustained her efforts to attain her culinary credentials beginning at age 15, and propelled her to the number one spot in the kitchen at Le 144, the restaurant operated by the venerated caviar house Petrossian.

Petrossian Boutique and Restaurant

© Discover Paris!

A few weeks ago, Dia granted Discover Paris! an interview. At that time, I had not read her biography - Le Chef est une Femme (The Chef is a Woman; written in French when Dia was only thirty years old) - and did not know the details of her family life or the long, rocky road that she traveled to achieve her success. Many of my questions concerned the concept behind the dishes served at Petrossian, which are not Russian or Armenian as the uninitiated might guess from the name of the restaurant, but rather, a co-habitation of the finest French cuisine with various elements of Senegalese cuisine. Foie gras with hibiscus (the main ingredient of Senegal's national drink) and Le Poisson du Jour (fish of the day) with plantains are examples of such dishes. The idea is to titillate, but not shock, the palates of the restaurant's clientele with new taste sensations from Senegal.

Rougui Dia and Armen Petrossian

© Discover Paris!

Armen Petrossian, who travels the world in search of new items for the boutique downstairs at the corner of rue de l'Université and rue de Latour-Maubourg, works with Dia to establish the menu. He is the person who encouraged Dia to incorporate Senegalese ingredients into her dishes.  When I asked Dia if she collaborates with other chefs regarding ideas for dishes and menus, she responded that her main inspiration – apart from her interactions with Monsieur Petrossian – comes from her mother and her sisters.

I also asked Dia several questions about how being black and being a woman affected her ability to progress in the culinary field, which is almost exclusively the realm of the white French male. She responded that she decided early on that she would concentrate on the positive and keep herself focused on her goal – otherwise, she would end up with nothing while her detractors would have everything.  She did not focus so much on the race and gender aspects of the difficulties that she faced, but rather concentrated on overcoming these "supplemental" difficulties.  She further stated that barriers that she encountered only fueled her determination to succeed.  It was only in reading her biography that I learned of the numerous slights, rejections, and insults that she endured to obtain her certificates and to arrive where she is today.  I also learned that three of her siblings had to leave France to work in their chosen professions, so closed were the doors to the thresholds that they needed to cross to get even entry level positions in their fields.

Dia is a study in grace and poise. She is proud of her Senegalese origins, but also fully embraces France. She decided as a very young woman that she would embrace the people who encouraged and supported her rather than focus on the negativity and ignorance of her detractors, and she said that this attitude is what allowed her to succeed. She speaks very softly and has a gentle smile, but simultaneously exudes an air of determination and strength born of fierce struggle. She hopes that all the publicity generated by her success will inspire young women and French people of non-European origin that they too can find a path to success.

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Entrée to Black Paris!™ is a Discover Paris! blog.