You’ll have to travel to Valence, in south-east France, to sample the dishes of the best restaurant in the world according to the Tripadvisor rating platform. It’s Pic, Anne-Sophie Pic’s three-star restaurant, which scores 5/5 out of more than 3,000 reviews.
French gastronomy is once again shining with excellence. The Pic restaurant, which has already been awarded three Michelin stars, also boasts a 5/5 rating on Tripadvisor and has climbed to the top of the platform’s worldwide rankings. Anne-Sophie Pic’s restaurant is renowned for its subdued atmosphere, traditional service and flavours inspired by the four corners of the globe, particularly Japan.
A restaurant that reflects the Pic history
As you enter Pic’s, your eye is instantly drawn to the long window displaying every edition of the Michelin Guide since it was first published in 1900. The reception area sets the tone. This is followed by a long corridor, decorated with the family history and current events of the chef, Anne-Sophie Pic. This is followed by a room adorned with a sublime Baccarat crystal chandelier. The restaurant, voted best restaurant in the world on Tripadvisor, has three distinct areas, lit by large picture windows with views over the gardens.
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The restaurant is decorated with magnificent floral creations, in shades of grey and powder pink. On the floor, a thick carpet muffles the sound of the brigade’s footsteps and eliminates disturbing sounds. At the heart of this refined, sober and discreet ambience, a veritable ball of table art is orchestrated, with service under a bell.
Cuisine by Anne-Sophie Pic
In this setting, Anne-Sophie Pic unveils a French and European cuisine influenced by the flavours of the world, such as those of Japan, which she adores, all in seven or ten beats. The seven-act Imprégnation menu, served at lunchtime from Tuesday to Friday, begins with Les prémices, followed by L’écume glisse sur la coquille and then Verdeur Fondante. These dishes with mysterious, poetic names continue with Reflets d’une nuit d’été or Succulent queens or Briochin or Murmure d’automne or Liane marine or Nid d’abeille or, finally, Mille fragrances.
The experience ends with Eventail de douceurs.
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For her ten-stop menu, served daily at lunch and dinner, the chef nicknamed ‘the tightrope walker of flavours’ adds Entremêlées, Aux pieds des pins, Sur le chemin de Diane and Succulentes reines.
While the titles leave plenty of room for imagination and supposition, the dishes are built around a single product, revealed through subtle, powerful flavours and a strong attraction to plants.
A multi-award-winning chef
‘To understand Anne-Sophie Pic’s cuisine, you have to understand her’. This is how the website of the chef, the embodiment of the exclusive club of three-starred women chefs, describes her.
Guided by her palate and sense of smell, Anne-Sophie Pic was born into a family of gourmets. The first family restaurant, L’Auberge du Pin, was founded in 1889 in the Ardèche by her great-grandmother Sophie Pic. Her son André succeeded her at the head of the kitchen and in 1934 was awarded three Michelin stars. In 1936, he opened a new restaurant in Valence. Jacques Pic, André Pic’s son, took over the reins in 1956 and was awarded a star in just one year, followed by a second in 1973.
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So Anne-Sophie Pic has cooking in her veins. Although she was destined for a career in fashion, the young woman joined her father in the family restaurant in 1992 after completing her studies. When her father died, her older brother took over in the kitchen, with Anne-Sophie working in the dining room. In 1997, she took charge of the restaurant with the aim of regaining its third star. A dream that came true 10 years later.
But the chef has not contented herself with sublimating this ancestral culinary house. She has forged a veritable empire. A cookery school and Epicerie Fine in Valence, the opening of the Anne-Sophie Pic restaurant at the Beau Rivage in Lausanne, the creation of the Michelin-starred La Dame de Pic in Paris, the launch of the fast good Daily Pic concept, the management of numerous restaurants in London, Singapore, Dubai, Megève and Mauritius… The Anne-Sophie Pic group is a giant in the gastronomic industry.
Anne-Sophie Pic’s best-known signature dish is her famous berlingots, ravioli with matcha green tea-flavoured pastry and a melting goat’s cheese centre.
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Featured photo : © Pic Valence
