A 4-star 4-handed menu for a fifteenth anniversary, with guest Kazuyuki Tanaka… This marks the beginning of April’s festivities at Ma Langue Sourit. Complementary cuisines
On Tuesday 4th of April for dinner and Wednesday 5th for lunch, Cyril Molard will not be alone in the kitchen. Indeed, he will be joined by Kazuyuki Tanaka, the 2-star chef of the restaurant Racine, in Reims, along with three members of his team.
“I had been following Kazu’s work for a long time,” begins Cyril Molard, “especially because our sommeliers know each other well. So I went to his restaurant twice, and I proposed a 4-handed here. We have the same views and our cuisines are complementary.”
The Japanese chef, in France since 2006, was awarded two Michelin stars in 2020. His restaurant, Racine, has only about 15 seats, so he had to make do with a busy schedule and fully booked services. “When he gave me his dates, I said ‘perfect’, it was right in line with our anniversary,” continues Cyril Molard.
An associative 4-handed
A 4-handed partnership: that’s how the chef of Ma Langue Sourit presents this experience. “It’s not a competition, with one dish out of two made by one or the other chef, which would lead to comments such as ‘that one was better than this one…’ No. We combine our skills. The same dish is prepared by both chefs,” he explains.
For example, Chef Molard’s Belgian smoked trout with galanga sauce and fir tree ash is accompanied by Chef Tanaka’s peas and fir tree sabayon. “We are working on the tastes, it has to match. Tomorrow morning, for example, we’re going to revise my sauce for the turbot so that it’s more vigorous.”
Beside him, Kazuyaki Tanaka is nodding. The chef, who is from the Champagne region of France, has brought with him a number of fine wine and food pairings based on bubbles: “I work with small winegrowers, with avant-garde champagnes. So I fill myself with their history, their family, their work, to elaborate my dishes, so that there is a common history.”
Embracing criticism
Fifteen years of work that the chefs are now tackling: “We’re always trying to move forward. Sometimes we fail, and we start again, but we have made some progress,” says Cyril Molard. When a dish doesn’t work, when it isn’t exceptional enough, you have to change it. Being a chef means accepting criticism. Chef Tanaka confirms: “If someone says something negative about my menu, I change everything,” he admits bluntly. “Because it’s true if only one person out of 30 makes a remark, your evening is ruined,” confirms the chef from the Grand Duchy. “A chef hates criticism, it hurts him, but he must accept it. We are always on edge, but it is a human adventure. However, you have to remain lucid. Fifteen years of Ma Langue Sourit is a great adventure.”
The overall experience
His assets? “A strong, very positive and energetic team that supports me.” In this team, his wife, Anne-Sophie Molard: “She has a great eye for detail, she is demanding and has an eye for everything: decoration, flowers, tableware… Because it’s not just the plate that counts. It’s the whole experience. It is important to be welcomed, to feel comfortable in a beautiful place, to be well served, to be available, to listen… And we are proud to have customers who have been visiting us since the beginning. They have followed our developments year after year, it’s a part of their lives!”
A month of surprises
A stunning video announces the colour of these April festivities.
A Photobooth is placed at the exit of the restaurant. When the guests leave, the chef escorts them out and poses with them for a souvenir bearing the 15-year mark of the 2-star restaurant.
In addition, there are many prizes to be won via competitions on the restaurant’s social networks, such as 6 months of weekly baskets at Paniers de Sandrine, an Allwine gift box, or a gift voucher for an all-inclusive dinner for 2 people at Ma Langue Sourit, and many other great surprises!
More information: www.mls.lu
Pictures: Ramunas Astrauskas for KACHEN