Plenitude was the 3 Michelin Star restaurant in the Cheval Blanc hotel where Chef Arnaud Donckele has made his sauces the lead in his dishes.  The food was made to elevate the sauce rather than the other, usual way of things.   It led to strong sauces which were left on the table if you desired more and instructed to eat a spoonful of sauce before you start any dish.  Open Tuesday to Saturday, the small restaurant books about 6 months out.  The hotel has 4 restaurants and at least one of them was also under the leadership of Chef Donckele.  He made an appearance in the dining room but did not visit with each table.  The evening starts with a walk through the wine cellar which was a long glassed in hallway with wine storage on either side.  At the end of the hall was a small private room that you can book for personal events – I just love starting with a sales pitch.   You are then seated at your large white cloth covered table and snacks begin to arrive before you even get the menu.  There were 2 menu options, The Symphony which is the chef’s pick of seaonal dishes (6 courses, cheese and extras – 495€) or the Sail Away Together where you chose 3 savory, 1 sweet and a cheese course (€475, sorry I didn’t get a photo).  The Symphony offered 2 levels of wine pairings.   We ordered a cocktail to start, to go with the snacks while we looked over wine and food options.  There were about 10 tables, well-spaced in the semi-circular room and probably more servers than guests, even with all tables taken.  We chose the Symphony menu and while the menu told you the essence of the food there was a flip menu detailing what all went in each sauce.  The place had a stylish feel but was ridiculously expensive for most people and even so had some service issues.  For me it had too much an elitist feel with the sincerity – just too showy.   The food was good but heavy and I’m not sure any made me want to ‘lick the plate’ – which would have been fun just to turn some heads.  I’m glad I got to try it but you won’t run into me there a second time.

Set-up

 

Food

Beginning snacks were French oysters with cucumber garnish, which were excellent.

 

A crispy chip was topped with a faux shrimp for an interesting bite.

 

Truffle topped tuna tartar was in a crisp shell.  This one did have lovely truffle flavor but was so delicate it was a one-biter.

 

There was a boullion of crab consommé and fennel that was filled with crab shreds.  It had nice taste and texture and I didn’t seem to get a photo.

The server brought a warm loaf of brown bread with a very soft interior and crisp crust..  Some Brittany butter was served in a curl and a long plate with salt and pepper was left at the table.

 

Gambero, radicchio and asaku was the first course on the tasting menu and came with a vibrant coral colored sauce with a decorative scoop of Japanese tangerine sorbet in the middle of a sauce made from shrimp, citrus, basil, vinegar, lemongrass, bergamot olive oil, Timut pepper and yuzu juice.  On the plate with the gambero was the head shell stuffed with a sausage mix and some greens.  It was all very good.

 

Blue fish, leek and marigold were sauced with tarragon, leek grilled sardine and marigold.  A leek sorbet was on the plate as well as a small piece of smoked sardine.   Lots of different flavors here and all blended well.  There was something smokey lined up on the top of the narrow fish piece.

 

Next was a bread tray with a dark croissant like seeded bread, and twisted olive bread, baguettes and brown long breads.  All were fine that I tried.  The server’s favorite was the olive but I like the brown layered roll better.

 

They asked if we’d like to see the kitchen and so we next followed them into the large kitchen space where they had a small alcove room for you to sit and eat your next course.   Scallop topped with caviar was plated with fennel and a sauce of lemon, fennel, abalone juice and roasted star anise.  The tender scallop was wonderful especially with the tasty sauce and caviar enhancement.   Nothing on the plate was just there – even the garnishes were cut into decorative shapes and herbs placed just so.

 

Langoustine with squash and rosemary was sauced with a sabayon of toasted bits of langoustine, coral sauce, vinegar, shallot, citrus. limonette pepper and wine.   A bit of cut out squash was on top of an aritichoke heart and some squash was pureéd in a scoop.  The thicker sauce was delicious and worked with everything.  Very good plate.

 

An apple sorbet was a transition course.

 

Poultry, viroflay and truffle were topped with creme marbree sauce made with roasted wings jus, chicken fat, basil, truffle butter, cognac, cream and bergamot peel.  The very moist breast was topped with crisped skin and underneath were some of the chopped liver bits.  On the side was spinach and truffle.  A separate dish held a chicken ‘nugget’ with rice pilaf which was quite good.  All the parts were tasty and great with the sauce.

 

Cheese was next and housed in a small alcove on one wall of the dining room.  You walked in and selected which cheeses you wanted to try of the soft and hard and made from cow, goat, or sheep milk.  As an enhancement you got a dish of gel and we picked the one made from vin jaune, which was wonderful and great with all the cheeses.  They also plated a salad for you to eat with the cheese.

 

Then as they replaced the linens we were served mineral water with ginger and quinoa concentrate.  I’d call it okay at best.

 

Kaolin de Jade was different varieties of Adour kiwi and agastache with a sauce of kiwi, agastache, ginger and plankton oil.   The balls of fruit were on a meringue like swirl with some kiwi sorbet inside.  It was fine.

 

Next came their book with a cut out of Paris to pop up and support your next treats.  Some orange blossom cream was decorated with soft meringue.. An almond cream tart had liquid center and was a large one-biter.

 

Then a server came tableside to scoop you some almond cream topped with pecans, candied kumquats and grapes.  It was the best of the three.

 

As a parting gift they sent a loaf of bread, a bottle of vinaigrette and a small bunch of flowers.  They were all a waste and I gave them to the clerk at our hotel.