Roland Trettl meets Paul Pairet

Roland Trettl in Shanghai

Steak and French fries, lemon tart, cucumber lollies – it sounds simple. But take note: behind the simple names, Frenchman Paul Pairet hides perfect craftsmanship and a great deal of thought. In his “Mr & Mrs Bund” restaurant he creates great food that is completely detached from the ebb and flow of fashion and which he simplifies down to the very essence of perfection. Trettl was impressed.

Having knowledge that gives you a hold over other people can really be fun! The kind of knowledge that others would give their eye teeth to know, but that they’ll just have to keep wanting! For six years now I have travelled all over the world and in the process have visited over 70 top international chefs, but only after this visit to Paul Pairet’s “Mr & Mrs Bund” in Shanghai do I truly feel that I’m the keeper of a genuine secret. I’m talking about his sensational lemon tart dessert recipe, which even his most highly decorated colleagues would love to set eyes upon.

The first word that comes to mind to describe Paul is “intelligent”. He has a cool style, and, big and powerful as he is, an impressive physical presence. He also has an infectious sense of humour. But nevertheless, his intelligence is what impresses you most. And luckily for us, it's an intelligence you can eat! As an example I’d like to pick out a dish that not only sounds simple – “steak and French fries” – but also looks simple on the plate: a portion of raw tuna, French fries and mustard ice cream. But if you think that anyone could do it, then you’re very much mistaken. Because the dish that sits so harmlessly on the plate is, from the point of view of craftsmanship alone, a fabulous performance. After all, the French fries prove to be homemade – from an artistically drawn out potato mass with nothing to bind it together. Before the chef can fry it to crisp perfection, in addition to the ideal potato there has to be a range of precise cutting and drying processes. The thought that goes into this in advance is matched only by the accuracy of the craftsmanship. That it is possible to succeed in achieving a dish that blends that melt in the mouth sensation with such crispness and freshness is frankly astonishing.

Before he settled down in Shanghai, Frenchman Paul Pairet had seen a lot of the world: Paris, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Sydney and Jakarta. Today he allows himself the liberty of simply cooking whatever he feels like cooking. For example, it is perfectly possible for this Frenchman in China to serve a Turkish classic – which he’s sure to do in his own individual way. Aubergines that have been roasted over an open flame almost beyond recognition are skinned, pressed, sliced and skewered. Everything is placed in a mixture of yoghurt and white sesame paste and then given a crispy effect that took my breath away. Veal tendons, cooked for hours and then frozen in to a terrine, cut in to wafer thin slices, dried and deep-fried. By some distance the crispiest that I have ever had the privilege to taste.

I know how simple it all sounds. But don’t let anyone make the mistake of equating simple with banal. Quite the contrary. With this food it’s a question of simple in the sense that the chef has thought out and resolved all of the complicated issues beforehand in his head. From a certain level of ability, great cuisine is no longer just a matter of coordinating a complex list of extremely complicated steps but rather of reducing them as far as possible to the absolute essential. Paul’s aubergine is a simple Turkish classic that has been thought through to create a compelling dish.

His cucumber lollipop is also a great idea, which, in the French tradition, is served between the main courses in place of the usual sorbet. Wafer thin cucumber slices filled with a peanut butter vinegar cream, frozen, then coated with dill oil, sprinkled with nuts, dill, ginger and coriander seeds, frozen again and then served. The combination of texture, juiciness, sourness and crispness has to be tasted to be believed.

As a young man, Paul studied mathematics. It is clear that he has taken on board from this time that math problems cannot be solved by wildly blundering about, but instead that it is crucial first of all to arrange the right formula in one’s head. And then to apply this formula one step at a time. Not for nothing did he press a folder into my hands when we met – containing all of his dishes, ingredients and methods. And if that was not enough, every hand movement was recorded on film. It will be a pleasure for us here at Hangar-7 to bring the dishes to the table by following the instructions contained in these little films as faithfully as possible.

No, I haven’t forgotten the lemon tart dessert. But I promised Paul upon my word of honour that I wouldn’t give his truly sensational recipe away. So I can only tell you this much: it consists of lemons that are hollowed out until they are paper thin and then filled again with a citrus Chantilly crème.
But enough for now! Anyone who wants to know more will have to travel to Shanghai – or visit the “Ikarus”.

Recorded by Christoph Schulte • Photos: Kar Fai Tong / Red Bull Photofiles