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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Paris' Culinary Black Women

Join Chef Amadeus and me for the second broadcast of our new Internet radio show Southern Passion Lounge in Paris and share our experiences of the best food, wine, and music in the City of Light. Click here to tune in today!

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In celebration of Women's History Month and in conjunction with the second broadcast of Southern Passion Lounge in Paris - the Internet radio show that brings you the best of food, wine, and music in Paris - today's blog post features several women of the African Diaspora who have left or are currently leaving their mark on the world of professional gastronomy in the French capital.

Agnes Moody

Graphic for 1900 Universal Exposition in Paris

At the age of 60, Agnes Moody ran the "Corn Kitchen," a principal feature at the U.S. Agriculture Department's building on the Champs de Mars during the 1900 Universal Exposition. The purpose of the exhibit was to promote the use of American corn and cornmeal for cooking and subsequently boost U.S. exports of the grain. Numerous papers across the U.S. touted Mrs. Moody's cooking skills and her popularity among visitors to the expo—as an example, the Virginian Pilot described her as the "presiding genius" at the kitchen and the Minneapolis Journal reported that she was "entertained and fed by royalty." Though she was cast in the role of an "Aunty," similar to Aunt Jemima, she was an accomplished woman who one of the charter members of the National Association of Colored Women, John Brown's Women's Relief Corps, and other organizations. She was awarded a gold medal by the U.S. Agriculture Department for her service.


Rougui Dia

Cover of Rougui Dia Biography

Rougui Dia is the 21st-century "Black Pearl" of Paris. Born of Senegalese parents in Paris' 12th arrondissement, she began preparing for a culinary career at age 15. Until January 2013, she was the head chef at Le 144, a restaurant operated by the venerated caviar house Petrossian. The dishes served during her tenure at Le 144 were not Russian or Armenian as you might deduce from the name of the caviar house, but rather were a union of the finest French cuisine with select elements from the Senegalese kitchen. Stimulating the palates of the restaurant's clientele with new taste sensations from Senegal was one of Dia’s primary goals. Dia will take over the kitchen of Le Vraymonde, the restaurant of the new Buddha Bar hotel that is scheduled to open during the first trimester of 2013 at 4, rue d’Anjou in the 8th arrondissement.


Babette de Rozières


Babette de Rozières
©Discover Paris!
Hailing from Guadeloupe, Babette de Rozières has enjoyed long-standing success as a restaurant owner, cookbook author, and culinary personality on French television. In the beginning, she worked in various posts in public television and radio and cooked part time at some of the most prestigious hotels in Paris. She purchased her first restaurant in 1978 and has never looked back. She has co-hosted various television shows since 1988 and won an international award for her first cookbook—a four-volume set on Antillean cooking—in 2004. Her latest endeavors include opening a new restaurant called La Case de Babette in les Yvelines (an administrative department in the greater Paris area) and writing her autobiography.


Melba Allen


Melba Allen
Image from The Wine Profilers Web site
Melba Allen left the US for Europe after her studies at the University of Houston and fell in love with the wine and food culture in France. Obtaining a diploma from the prestigious Université-du-vin, Suze la Rousse in the Rhone Valley and certificates from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust Program of London, she began buying and selling wines internationally, judging wine tasting competitions, and writing on-line articles for magazines such as Elle and Vin & Cuisine. She currently trains wine professionals for restaurants and wine shops, lectures on Wine Science and Business and Wine Tourism at the Institut Européen de Management International (IEMI) in Paris, and is the communications coordinator for The Wine Profilers—a program to help wine lovers better understand the choices they make when selecting a wine.


Sharon Leslie Morgan


Sharon Leslie Morgan
Image courtesy of Sharon Leslie Morgan
Chicago-born Sharon Leslie Morgan made her cooking debut in Paris when she and former Haynes' barman Bennie Luke teamed up in 1999 to create a weekly event called "Soul on Sunday" at Haynes' restaurant (now closed). The concept began as a brunch, but evolved into a late-afternoon-and-evening diner-spectacle (dinner show). There was prearranged entertainment, but weekly open-mike sessions added variety to the program. When "Soul on Sunday" came to an end, Morgan and Luke began looking for another venue to provide down-home food and lively entertainment to African Americans in Paris. They opened Bojangles Restaurant and Bar at 47, rue Rodier in the 9th arrondissement on January 3, 2001. On opening night there was not a vacant seat to be found. Live jazz piano, trumpet, and singing heightened the enjoyment of the copious portions of spicy pumpkin soup, grilled T-bone steak, Caribbean-style fried fish, and side dishes that were served. Bojangles was a center for great food and fun until it closed in 2003. Memories live on through the open Facebook group called Bojangles Paris Online.


Alberta Wright


Alberta Wright
Image from Jezebel's Web site
Charleston, South Carolina-native Alberta Wright is one of a few African Americans who dared to open a restaurant in Paris. She operated a branch of her New York eatery Jezebel (now closed) in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area from 1990-1994. Also called Jezebel's, it was one of the chic places to dine in Paris during its heyday. Celebrities such as Madonna, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Yves St.-Laurent, and Valentino gave parties there. Wright (whose nickname is Jezebel) opened the restaurant on a whim, and soon discovered how difficult the Paris market could be. Read a full account of her experience here.


Monique Y. Wells


Monique Y. Wells
Photo by Kim Powell
As the author of Food for the Soul, a cookbook sponsored for publication in French by master chef Alain Ducasse, I have continually sought to include gourmet activities in the Discover Paris! repertoire of walks and services. In November 2003, we organized the first Afro-centric culinary excursion in Paris, focusing on foods and beverages that comprise the traditional French meal and featuring African-American culinary professionals who lived and worked in France at the time. Discover Paris! co-hosted Paris - A Culinary Delight with EthnoTravel.com, a company dedicated to promoting multicultural travel. I led the excursion to explore cheese, bread, and coffee; Melba Allen (mentioned above) shared her expertise about wine and provided a tasting at a local vineyard; and Chef Klancy Miller led the group on a pastry and chocolate walk. African-American chef Percy Taylor welcomed the group for a special dinner at his restaurant Percy's Place (now closed), complete with musical entertainment. A few months later, Allen, Miller, and I were featured on Al Roker's Food Network television show Recipe for Success.

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

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Happy Birthday to the Entrée to Black Paris Blog!

Greetings everyone,

I am pleased to announce that the official launch of the Entrée to Black Paris blog took place one year ago today!

We kicked off this online adventure with a posting about Franco-Senegalese chef Rougia Dia, who presides over the kitchen at the posh, 7th-arrondissement restaurant Petrossian. We call her the new Black Pearl of Paris!

Since then, we’ve featured people, places, and events that reflect the vibrant scene that contemporary black life in Paris represents. We’ve also acknowledged historical black figures with the intent to keep their memory alive as a source of inspiration for those of us who are here and those who will follow.

Here are just a few photos to remind you of various postings:

San Francisco Jazz Man in Paris

The Spirit of Africa at Parc de la Villette

Black Women on French Television

Caribbean Rhythms and Senegalese Cuisine

Remembering Chester Himes

We are particularly pleased to bring you the Black Paris Profiles™ series and our Art and Food Pairing™ series, and hope that you are enjoying these special features of the blog.

Thanks for your support over the past year! We want to hear from you on this special day. Leave your comments beneath this posting on what you like about the blog, what you dislike about it, and what you’d like to see included in future postings.

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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.