Meet Chef Stéphane Jego – And His Legendary Rice Pudding!
One of the best bistros in Paris is called Chez L’Ami Jean – home to an acclaimed Chef who delivers traditional french food with a creative eye – and has an amazing rice pudding dessert that is to die for!
Here is how Travel + Leisure describes Chez L’Ami Jean:
“Situated in the Seventh Arrondissement, this small, lively bistro is often lauded as the best in Paris. Run by celebrated chef Stéphane Jego, the restaurant serves authentic Basque fare in a traditional bistro-style setting with closely packed tables and an open kitchen. The walls are decorated with Basque sports memorabilia, while strings of garlic and Espelette peppers hang from the ceiling.”
In fact, there are many unique artistic touches that adorn the restaurant walls:
Under The Chef’s Watchful Eye…
Chef Jego has an artistic eye for sure, as well as an eye on everything, all the time, while also running a kitchen that I was excited to see filled with female Chefs…
No matter who is in the kitchen, it’s all about the food, so let’s dig into our lunch tasting menu:
Alex and I are huge fans of razor clams, and here they are delivered simmered in a delicate broth and left in the shell with herbs and sliced peppers for us to dig out and enjoy…
We had the Chef’s menu, so the dishes came at us faster than I could document – so if any of these are described wrong, sorry!
A stuff cable dish with glazed vegetables was delicious – if anyone has more information on all of the elements of the dish, please let me know…
Next up was Chef’s signature grilled Quail…topped with a delicate collection of pea tendrils – all of Chef’s food was rich and delicious, but not heavy at all…
Chef also makes a “flaming lamb” dish with fresh herbs roasted on top – while he hold onto the pan!
So, not only is the food delicious but the preparation and presentation is amazing – and there is more to come!
Of course, you can’t go wrong with a side of mashed potatoes, and after you finish with these main courses, they bring you some cheese – served on a slate slab:
Now, time for the big finale: the Chef’s legendary Rice Pudding…here is how he describes it on his website:
“I don’t like sweets but… I love the rice pudding my mum used to make, I love even more the memory I kept of it, as a creamy and flavoured pudding. Then I recreated this childhood memory. I served it with salted butter caramel whipped cream and roasted caramelized pecan nuts. I wanted to obtain a blend of rounded smoked flavours, with crunchy nuts on your teeth and a soft result in the mouth. This is my definition of pleasure and even Barack Obama indulged in this sweet treat. I always serve the rice pudding at the end of the meal, sometimes with other desserts. I serve it in a big bowl and I like to see the diner guest sharing it.”
Here is the recipe in pictures, beginning with the base of caramel shipped cream and roasted carmelized pecan nuts – and then you see it created from there:
Again, the presentation is amazing – the entire meal feels like an interactive celebration of bistro cuisine – done by a master!
After they present the dish, they recommend you stir it all up and go to town, which we did…incredible flavors and texture!
And now time to thank the Chef!
Chef Jego was willing to pose with us, and he signed a menu for us as well…a great reminder of a memorable meal from a culinary Maestro!
Of course, there is so much incredible food in Paris, like this $125 chicken:
Oh, know that this is just the first half of the dish – there’s an entire second course as well!
Click here to see the feast:
For those who have followed along for a while, this is the restaurant that also serves this!
This “garlic potato cake” is amazing – this is a photo of the one I made at home!
See the recipe and the inspiration from Chez L’Ami Louis here!
Back to chicken: there is another Paris bistro making their own case for the city’s best chicken – and you can watch it cooking in front of you!
This restaurant sits across from an actual windmill!
Click here for the tour!
I love the food of Paris of course, and as my wife Alex is a “lover of potatoes”, we had to dig into the best in Paris as well:
This caviar-topped potato cake is amazing, and there are many more that you can see by clicking on my story here:
I also showed you the police action I encountered on my way to dinner:
It doesn’t change what an incredible view you get from Sacre Coeur:
You can see more of my 16 miles hiking Paris that day by clicking on my story here:
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Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Eat This!, Fine Dining, Food, Food Pictures, Food Travel, Recipes, Restaurants, Travel, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
Family rice pudding recipes seem to be a chef’s favorite. In Philadelphia at Amis, the chef would serve his grandmother’s rice pudding.
What a fantastic dining experience! I’ve been to Paris a couple of times; it’s an important city to see at least once, like Rome, London, Madrid, etc…. But my idea of a seriously good time is away in a quiet village, like Gordes, Roussilon, and more. I’m just not a city person. But I have hit up most all of the major European cities, and of course enjoyed the culinary scenes there. Your French must be pretty good to get the attention of the chef! I still discover Americans who don’t make any attempts at speaking French. Now, Wales and Germany were the hardest for me, but I tried!!! Sorry, I’m off topic. I love this post, and I love people who live for this kind of experience!!!
I love this! My wife and I are going to Gourdes this summer! We cannot wait to explore the region – we took a weeklong cooking class with Patricia Wells in Vaison la Romaine just outside of Avignon – so it’s a homecoming to a degree! I agree small vs. big cities are better…
Well certainly to us they’re better. We have gone to Vaison la Romaine!!!
Rice Pudding is one of my favourite desserts however all the food looks amazing what a dining experience 🙂
Thanks Carol…we don’t usually eat desserts at all, but had to have this because it’s his iconic dish and it was delicious – sweet but not TOO sweet! Thank you for commenting!
It’s always a pleasure to read your posts, John 🙂
What a splendid meal, John. I am going to Norway in May. Any restaurant suggestions?
Norway is still on our “must go” list, and speaking of lists, here’s one of Oslo’s best restaurants! https://thenordicnomad.com/eat-drink/oslos-best-restaurants-and-must-try-dishes/
Thanks. I’ll let you know what I think 😉