Fogón restaurant – Spain in the heart of ParisBy Emmanuel TresmontantHeir to a line of four generations of chefs, Alberto Herráiz set up a small gourmet restaurant ten years ago now, which is open only in the evening and highlights the finest products from Spanish soil. An exceptional experience. Going out to a restaurant is becoming a pleasure again. The pleasure of a change of scene, first of all: you walk in and you are in Spain, with an Iberian ham hanging in the middle of the dining room in a glass cage, like a work of art! Then comes the visual pleasure, with the very pure décor and subdued lighting. No castanets or flamenco in the background… The calm that reigns here is extremely “anti-exotic” and the well-spaced tables allow clients to converse peacefully. Originally from Cuenca (one of the most beautiful mediaeval towns in Spain, halfway between Madrid and Valencia), 38-year-old Alberto Herráiz is one of the new generation of Spanish chefs who have assimilated the revolutionary technique of the great Ferran Adria. Yet, unlike his master, from whom he deliberately distanced himself by going to set up in Paris, Alberto is not seeking to “deconstruct” the local produce but, on the contrary, puts his technique to the service of the product in order to intensify its own particular identity and flavours as elegantly as possible.  © E. Tresmontant/ViaMichelin Fogón, in Spanish, is the word for the stove or hearth where people used to cook in times gone by. Alberto’s choice of name clearly sets out his agenda: you go to his restaurant first and foremost to eat! Dining at Fogón is to immerse yourself in the tapas culture which expresses, through its blend of improvisation and enjoyment, freshness and conviviality, the Spanish philosophy of good living… “The principle of tapas is that the table must never be empty!” And so, no sooner have you finished the first tapas than the second one is brought out. Be it chestnut and foie gras soup, skate and caper salad or egg cooked for three hours and served with anchovy roe and bread fingers, all the tapas created by Alberto are of incredible finesse. To start your meal, a plate of vintage jamón ibérico de bellota (Iberian bellota ham) from pigs bred in the mountains and fed (partially) on acorns, is offered on the house.  More than a mere “tapas bar”, the Fogón is in reality an arroceria, a Spanish restaurant specialising in rice, be it cooked in a paella, a caldero or in a cast iron pot. To make his fabulous paellas with market vegetables, Valencian-style (chicken, rabbit, vegetables), with langoustines, Iberian ham or squid and cuttlefish ink, Alberto Herráiz works with only Spanish bomban rice: a round rice whose grain swells by absorbing a lot of stock, whilst remaining firm. “The aim of paella is to find in each spoonful the identifiable flavour of each ingredient, plus an extra taste formed by the combination of the various flavours.” Besides their intense taste, Alberto’s paellas are impressive for their consistent texture and the crunchiness of the rice that is deliberately “grilled” at the bottom of the pan.* The Fogón is also bursting with original ideas that give a joyous dimension to the presentation of the meal: the cutlery is kept in a draw at the right-hand end of the table; the fresh bread is wrapped in a fabric pouch… All the produce is Spanish; even the sparkling mineral water comes from Galicia. The great Spanish wines of course feature on the wine list, like the venerable Vega Sicilia Unico (from Ribera del Duero) or the Tondonia estate (from Rioja), which produces whites and reds that are both complex and deep. You can, however, treat yourself much less expensively with wines by the glass, such as the superb Manzanilla made by the sea in the district of Sanlùcar de Barrameda (Andalusia), which has a very dry and slightly iodised taste (€9 a glass). *The word paella originally designated the traditional raw iron pan with two handles. For Alberto Herráiz, who has tried all sorts of paellas, none of them gives better results than the good old model made of very thin iron, the cheapest of them all! Practical informationFogón restaurant 45, quai des Grands-Augustins 75006 Paris 01 43 54 31 33 Rice Menu at €39. Tapas Menu at €45 (this menu is always prepared for the whole table). |
Tourism and Gastronomy
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