French Invasion, Atout Paris & Rose from Provence. Oui, You Can Have Your Veggies Et Eat Your Desserts Too!

By Laura Medina

Spring has sprung, bring a new crop of trends.

When Spring sprung, it brought a new season.

Last year, it was British.  Two years ago, it was Scandinavian.  Now, France...the real, modern French culture is blooming unto its own, out of cliches and stereotypes.

Maybe because we started the year with the massacre of the staff of the French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, the out-pouring of sympathies and support brought out the real Paris of today and the French principle of liberty and free speech...and basically having a good sense of humor about life.

The French are returning the love while busting cliches about what it means to be French and what is today's French culture.

Spring brings Rose wine from Provence.  Instead of us traveling to Provence, Provence came to us with a bounty of refreshing Rose wine, easy to gulp; and the French have no problem with us gulping it with fresh and light fare to stuffed endive leaves and tidbits of grilled veggies which brings us to...

Atout Paris, a showcase of French hospitality by the French Tourism Development.  That's not an oxymoron.  Once they realize the world loves them, this showcase returns the love at SmogShop, an auto shop turned artsy-urban event venue.

Busting cliches while returning the favor, the French admit they love American Pop Culture.  They brought a Parisian graffiti artist doing his version of an All-American art form that the French just fell in love with...graffiti turned abstract art by the public.

Obviously, what the francophiles, gastronomes, and epicureans are hungry for...the nouveau francais cuisine from Paris' hottest and "hautest" chef, Chef Antonin Bonnet.

Atout Paris, http://us.rendezvousenfrance.com/

Gormandizing on traditional yet cliche rich French food...nah...didn't happen under Chef Antonin's watch, "I hate gluttony.  It's not a responsible way to eat."

But if it's innovation you're hungry for, you got it with him.  If you're searching for a new way of vegetarianism, well, you got it...sort of..."Raw veganism is not good for the bowels."  Okay, Chef Antonin doesn't play the Hollywood/Los Angeles Popularity Game but this is what makes him trustworthy; and he has a conscious, which reflects today's Paris.

                                        https://www.tastemade.com/places/v/SoYniBuUS0ymLj_CPWTSHQ

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5YrMo-fs6s

Watching the ravenous gastronomes devour his bite-sized hor d'oeuvres of cider-marinated Mackerel, horseradish snow and nasturnium flower petals, making a fist, Chef Antonin, "A protein should be like this," portion-control.

When this epicurean writer commented on the lean seafood paired with vegetables, this scribe can't help but ask, "Is this the new food trend coming from Paris?"

Chef Antonin, "No. Not a new French cuisine.  Just an idea. For Americans, this was fun and new.  In Paris, this is normal.  They don't care."

On the bite-sized tasting portions, Chef Antonin, "We eat too much meat, protein, not good globally, even in France."

Parsnip Cream with Tuile Carrot Chips,  https://www.tastemade.com/places/v/SoYniBuUS0ymLj_CPWTSHQ

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5YrMo-fs6s

This scribe told him that his dessert of Parsnip Cream with Tuile Carrot Cookie Chips is refreshingly minty.

Shrugging with a comme c'est, comme ca attitude, Chef Antonin, "Nah, it's just a new way to present and eat vegetables.  I want to prove to the earth that you don't have to use a lot of sugar and cream to get the flavor that you want."  There are many different ways to use and eat vegetables.

Yes, Chef Antonin did and does prove you can eat vegetables as dessert but you gotta be one heck of a chef to pull off this magic trick.  Hats off to him.

The nouveau Parisian/French cuisine trend is a global trend you'll see in nitrogen-freeze dried strawberries in Charleston's McCardy's and Chicago's Moto...using molecular gastronomy to use and present vegetables and fruits in a fun and new to make produce more sustainable and popular with the masses.

Like they say among chefs, this aint' Mama's cooking.

Le Nouveau Francais Cuisine keeps you lean and fresh with fun textures and flavors.

Perhaps, this is the nouveau secret of French women, molecular vegan gastronomy and turning vegetables into dessert.