The author of the idea restaurateur tells about his new French restaurant Vatel Valery Laurent: "The name of my restaurant is only indirectly related to that Vatel and his story, which Roland Joffe showed in his film with Gerard Depardieu in the lead role. I was not going to make an accurate theatrical scenery and follow all the realities of that time. I just wanted to plunge into this inexhaustible the world is French style from king Louis XIV to Napoleon Bonaparte.

Of course, a limited area, a small ceiling height, and the task of making a restaurant, rather than a museum of art, often held back my emotions. After all, initially we dealt with a basement with a height of not more than 2.2 m. And, of course, the question of ventilation immediately arose. I had to deepen the room as far as possible.

The easiest way would be to say that the project was executed in an eclectic style, because several epochs and ages met in it. In general, in recent times, any mixture of styles has become called eclecticism, and this is not quite true. After all, no style is pure, in each can be traced the influence of the previous ones, right up to the Roman and Greek. I wanted to create a welcoming, relaxing atmosphere of coziness and comfort, without going beyond the legend. Legends that once in such a typical French courtyard, which to this day and many in the center of Paris, lived Francois Vatel, the butler of Prince de Conde.

The staircase is made of solid oak, with wrought iron balusters - perhaps the “remaining” inherited from the knightly ages. She leads us into a small courtyard - the hall of the restaurant, which consists of several neighboring "houses", different in form and in the status of their "owners". Perhaps, once the servant of the Great organizer of celebrations lived here. In the central house, decorated with wrought griffins, "lives" Vatel, the Cat glances at us from the balcony in an elegant butler costume. The walls of the houses are covered with grapevine and ivy, in the midst of which a small, bronze fountain that has turned green from time to time is visible. Further, through the arch of a massive white arch, made of old brick (this is my favorite material), the guest enters the first hall, which we conventionally call the castle. Here massive furniture with an abundance of decorative elements is specially used. It was made according to our sketches at the French factory AGR. The upholstery of the upholstered furniture is decorated with nails from aged bronze, the backs of the chairs are decorated with the "family" coat of arms, squeezed on the skin. The hall is framed by wooden panels in the typical French bourgeois style, with inlays of aged velvet from dark green to emerald shades. In the openings of paintings by Dutch painters in massive frames. The ceiling beams are decorated with hand painted.

In the chimney hall, the bar counter is made in the traditional French restaurant style - with a powerful tin-cast table top, which was also specially made for us in France. The table top is decorated with "Chateau motifs" - a hint of a rich selection of wines that can be enjoyed in our restaurant. The fireplace itself serves as a frame for the portrait of Prince Conde - even if historical justice prevails here! The portrait was painted by an Italian artist. Opposite the fireplace, a stately wine cabinet is the pride of the establishment. The cabinet is made according to my sketches by the German company CHAMBRAIR - in the world of wine coolers it is like a Maybach in the automotive industry. We made the topcoat ourselves. As a result, the wardrobe was “dressed” in black with a silver patina “dress”. For the upholstery of the chairs in this room, we picked up the classic collections of fabrics from RUBELLI. Of course, the most difficult in execution in this room was the coffered ceiling, each caisson which is made of separate carved elements.

For greater persuasiveness in the history of this room, a "fragment" of a wall with a window opening and a "partially surviving" Gothic arch, "inherited" by us with the old wrought-iron lattice, is preserved. Behind her stand like a candelabra, forgotten because it is not needed - girandoli. At the end of the "castle" hall there are four cozy VIP rooms and a cigar smoking room.

Of course, such a restaurant as Vatel is unthinkable without a real French chef, and we invited the famous Eric Rochelle to the position of chef. The last place of his work was the famous Espadone restaurant in Paris at the luxurious Ritz Hotel.

Carefully chose dishes and accessories and settled on elegant, artificially aged dishes from BECARA. Cutlery from SAMBONET. Even such a detail as a napkin ring is made on the level of jewelry in the form of a thin forged bracelet inlaid with natural semiprecious stones.

Often restaurateurs save on finishing the kitchen, since in 99% of cases it is hidden from the eyes of visitors. We did otherwise. For me, this is just the space that defines the face of the institution, the symbolic part of our "common home" in a deep, philosophical sense. In general, I am pleased with this project. I think we managed to display the French style and make Vatel beautiful and elegant. "