In Stock, in Paris, “the heads, the nutty flavor of the scallops, the tails, the salty notes of the pickled plums”

HAS Far from the Grands Boulevards, on a corner less dedicated to good restaurants than to offices, a restaurant capable of reversing the trend was born at the beginning of September. Three rooms in a row decorated with niches, bathed in burning light and rocked by an electronic playlist. So much for the portrait of the Stock Exchange, whose name (“action” in English) alludes to the financial securities that were traded for almost two centuries within the walls of the old Paris Stock Exchange, located right next door.

Concise, creative and seasonal, the menu suggests a smooth dinner. Intuition confirmed in the glass: an enigmatic cocktail “Tzatziki”mixing cucumber-infused vodka, honey, dill syrup and homemade green olive oil with clarified Greek yogurt. Served in a champagne glass, this tasty drink is the perfect preamble to the parade of dishes that chef Théo Badalucco is preparing to present.

At only 24 years old, the boy has a very complete resume: hospitality school in Nice, where he is originally from; learning in the kitchens of La Passagère (one star in the Michelin guide), in Juan-les-Pins (Alpes-Maritimes); but also at L’Orangerie, a double-star restaurant at the George V hotel in Paris. A liner – “Six hundred employees pass each other there every day without speaking, a bit like in the subway” – which leaves quite quickly towards a human scale ship: “I accepted the position of sous chef at Les Résidents, a restaurant that welcomes a new chef every quarter. » It was there, with a resident Italian, that he tried his first fermentation. “Before joining us, Matteo Bartolini had worked at Noma [table danoise cinq fois sacrée meilleur restaurant du monde par le classement World’s 50 Best], where this technique is widely used. “He taught me everything about it.” – confides the cook.

Happy texture set

Although this means surpassing the teacher, the student serves the broth with a starter that gives prominence to this method of preservation: on a scallop carpaccio heated with a lacto-fermented walnut skin broth, Théo Badalucco puts a condiment based on pickled plums. Understand, again, lactofermented: “For three weeks, in a vacuum, the sugar in the fruit or vegetable devours the lactic acids naturally present inside, thanks to the addition of salt and the absence of oxygen. »

While the thin strips of black radish provide a joyful play of textures, different flavors take turns stirring the taste buds. Stack: The nutty flavor of scallops and squash. Front: the saline notes provided by the long macerated plum. Hidden under a bed of watercress leaves sprinkled with beet powder, it all leaves fond memories of a harmonious sweet-salty combination. And it implicitly reveals the young chef’s great technique. Proof that courage does not wait for years, but also that beautiful things are finally happening at the Brongniart Palace.