Nowadays, in many industries, the phenomenon of collaborations is always growing.
The world of watchmaking is certainly not exempt from this trend, from which we have seen the emergence of fantastic timepieces that are the result of the union with different worlds such as sports to name one.
Today, however, dear friends of IWS, we are here to tell you about what I think is one of the most unique and interesting collaborations of recent times where haute horology goes to merge with the world of haute cuisine.
I’m not talking about a new watch this time, but about the opening of Francois Paul Journe’s new restaurant, that is, a place where extremely refined dishes come to life in an environment where all the real watchmaking passion is in the air.
Let’s go now to find out all the details of this incredible new adventure featuring award-winning chef Dominique Gauthier and the skilled master François-Paul Journe.
The new F.P.Journe Restaurant
49 Rue du Rhône, Geneva, this is the address from which “F.P.Journe Le Restaurant,” that is, the new venture dominated by starred dishes resulting from the union between the skilled independent watchmaker F.P. Journe and the renowned chef Dominique Gauthier, started.
The address from which the famous brasserie “La Bavaria” originally started in 1912, this is an establishment that has seen some of the biggest local and international names pass through its doors and is now adorned with a new look with a central theme: watchmaking.
It is indeed a place where you can breathe in the history of watchmaking according to Journe while at the same time savoring fantastic, highly selected gourmet dishes. The way in which this almost magical place came to life is quite unique.
In fact, F.P.Journe and Gauthier owe their meeting and the beginning of their adventure to a mutual friend with a passion for both watchmaking and cooking. Inside the restaurant with its characteristic historic decor, which has been handed down since 1942, one can immediately find oneself immersed in an atmosphere that is both elegant and relaxed.
The decorations of “F.P.Journe Le Restaurant” were entrusted to the same clock who wanted to give the restaurant a strong watchmaking identity. Indeed, above the walls it is possible to admire posters above which technical drawings of watch movements are shown.
Instead, the tables bear the names of famous watchmakers such as Jost Bürgi or Christiaan Huygens, and the menus refer to Journe models. The real hand-themed “treat” can instead be found in the cutlery such as is also inspired by the world of hands.
Moving instead to the center of the restaurant, it is possible to admire a 17th-century astronomical clock signed “John Brugell Venetia”.
Complementing the combination of this fantastic food and watch-themed venue is the cuisine of skilled chef Dominique Gauthier. Like Journe, who was able to express a concept of art through watches, Chef Gauthier also began his journey at a young age wanting to try to communicate a personal concept of art through haute cuisine.
The skilled chef, winner of a Michelin star and an 18/20 Gault & Millau award, features Mediterranean cuisine with bursts of spices and citrus fruits reminiscent of his travels in Thailand. As Journe succeeds in reinterpreting haute horlogerie tradition in his own way, Chef Gauthier offers dishes that bring nuance to classic codes of culinary art.
Inside the new restaurant you will be able to enjoy some of the chef’s most famous dishes including scampi in kadaïf and hare ravioli with chestnut cream and white Alba truffle.
Rounding out the brigade, we find assistant Morgane Quétineau-Demay along with chef Maxime Mühlemann and Théo Cesarini, as well as head sommelier Bogdan Tand.
Final Thoughts
With this new chapter in what is becoming the great Journe story, we are certainly witnessing an unusual step that, in my opinion, could also be followed by other maisons.
I certainly find that the combination of haute horlogerie on the one hand, and haute cuisine on the other, can seamlessly coexist within the same place.
In fact, when we are confronted with what is a true art expressed by two totally different worlds but which, at the same time are the fruit of two skilled masters, we are faced with a meeting point from which springs what is now “F.P.Journe Le Restaurant.”
Finally, I conclude by saying that I find it fascinating how we can bring lovers of haute cuisine closer to the world of watchmaking and vice versa, through a convivial place that will undoubtedly become a reference point for every enthusiast.
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