Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris Introduces Le George

October 20, 2015,

Paris, France

Opened in October 2015, Mediterranean-style restaurant Le George joins the acclaimed Le Cinq and La Galerie as the latest culinary offering at Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris.

Executive Chef at Le Cinq, Christian Le Squer, who currently supervises all of the Hotel’s dining outlets and who has held three Michelin stars for twelve consecutive years, has handed over the reins to Marco Garfagnini, who leads the kitchen at Le George. Chef Marco, who hails from Carrara in Tuscany, has created a balanced and healthy menu that offers light and modern Mediterranean-style food inspired by traditional cuisine; a journey between the French Riviera and northern Italy. There is a strong emphasis on fish and elegantly prepared flavoursome vegetables, which are complemented by a comprehensive choice of vegetarian dishes for health-conscious clientele.

The menu has been designed for sharing, with dishes available in half portions to encourage an interactive dining experience. Highlights nclude the Chef’s signature specialities as well as new creations, such as Breton lobster risotto, ricotta cheese tortelli lemon and fresh mint, roasted Dublin Bay prawn citrus and mustard sauce, john dory caramelised with veal juice, pan-fried sea bass with clam juice and semi-confit apple with ginger, mascarpone cream and milk ice cream.

The pasta will be freshly made twice a day, and the risotto prepared to the minute.

Marco Garfagnini: Cuisine “From the Heart”

A Tuscan native from Carrara, Chef Marco learned his trade abroad, in Paris, London, New York (at the famous Beci NYC) and Cleveland. Upon his return to his home city in 1998, he opened his own restaurant with his wife and just one year later, at the age of 29, he was awarded his first star. Carrara, located at the foot of the Apuan Alps on the Ligurian border, owes its global reputation to its white marble, but is no less rich in culinary traditions that draw on the nearby sea – a great source of inspiration for Garfagnini. In 2002, he was among the five finalists for the Best Chef in Italy title and in 2005 he was named Young Italian Chef of the Year by the renowned Italian Gambero Rosso guide.

In 2005, José Silva, General Manager of Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues Geneva at the time, was impressed by Garfagnini’s flavourful, elegant cuisine and asked him to join the team at the Swiss luxury hotel. Eight years after opening his restaurant Ninan, Garfagnini was looking for a new challenge, and took the helm at the Italian restaurant Il Lago at Four Seasons, where he was awarded another Michelin star in 2013. At the same time, Garfagnini opened and supervised the rooftop restaurant Izumi, a Japanese-fusion concept of innovative Nikkei cuisine that met great success with dishes comparable to Nobu.

It was only natural that José Silva, in his capacity as Regional Vice-President and General Manager of Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris since 2014, should put him in charge of the new Mediterranean restaurant Le George. With determination and ambition, Marco Garfagnini took on the new project at the George V, a global benchmark in luxury hospitality. His aim is to offer a simple, harmonious cuisine – cooking “from the heart,” in his own words.

Aside from his distinguished career in gastronomy, and his dedication to creating culinary art defined by humility, passion and professionalism, Garfagnini might have become a professional musician, another passion of his. A big blues fan, he plays the guitar and the harmonica, and writes songs in his spare time.

A Team at the Top of its Game

As Director of Le George, Quentin Garreau de Labarre ensures the smooth running of the restaurant. A graduate of the Glion Institute of Higher Education, he began his career at Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam before joining Four Seasons Hotel George V in 2011 as Assistant Manager of Le Cinq restaurant.

The sommelier, under the guidance of Éric Beaumard, Director of Le Cinq and an award-winning sommelier himself, recommends French wines from the George V wine cellar, as well as Italian, Spanish and Portuguese labels from a collection of more than 600 bottles. These selections will emphasise the discovery of new tastes through unusual varieties and wines by the glass.

Four Seasons Hotel George V strives to rejuvenate the image of luxury hotel restaurants and to create new standards through a more contemporary approach, and, above all, through truly dynamic service.

Le George is run like a private establishment with its own suppliers while still complementing the Hotel’s other restaurants.

A Light and Bright Dining Room with a Relaxed, Elegant Atmosphere

The new Le George restaurant overlooks the Hotel’s Marble Courtyard and plans are in place for an Orangerie to be added in spring 2016.

Five large windows looking onto the Courtyard allow natural light to flood in, creating a bright, luminous space. The windows’ black metal framework underscores the architectural style of the restaurant, while grey cashmere curtains lend a light, soft touch, and the interlaced braided leather trimmings handmade by MTX resemble a leather sculpture.

The ivory-toned vaulted ceiling and oblique lighting accentuating its curves add a sense of openness to the space, over which hangs a Baccarat chandelier that is more than 2.5 metres (8 feet) high and nearly 2 metres (6.5 feet) wide. This sparkling crystal piece echoes the furnishings and fixtures conceived by the Hotel’s interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon for the house of Lalique, a symbol of French-style luxury. The restaurant doors, with their black metal framework structuring the entrance, feature decorative crystal panels by Lalique.

The interiors gracefully fuse the George V’s signature classical style with a sense of timeless elegance. A large engraved mirror and luminous paper sculptures by artist Junior Fritz Jacquet adorn the panelled and padded-leather walls. Classical wall lamps, carpeting made from archive designs by the house of Braquenié, velvet- and damask-upholstered wing chairs and 1930s grey leather armchairs combine to create an altogether chic and authentic Parisian atmosphere.

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