Welli'Wednesday: Wellington beef evenings by Amandine Chaignot at Café de Luce

For beef Wellington lovers, Café de Luce, in Paris's 18th arrondissement, invites you every Wednesday evening to discover its menu dedicated to this exceptional piece of meat surrounded by its crust, imagined by its chef, Amandine Chaignot. Reservations are essential. We've tried it, we'll tell you!

When French and English cuisine meet... Café de Luce, in Paris's 18th arrondissement, invites you to discover its special Welli'Wednesday beef Wellington menu every Wednesday evening. The menu includes starters, main course and dessert, and mixes genres, offering traditional bistro cuisine.

Café de Luce, the latest creation of talented chef Amandine Chaignot, is a café-bistrot nestled in the heart of the picturesque Montmartre district, on the Place du Théâtre de l'Atelier in Paris's 18th arrondissement. Inspired by legendary Parisian cafés, this establishment welcomes you day and night in an authentically Parisian atmosphere.

The chef, already renowned for her restaurant Pouliche, brings her modern, convivial signature to the table, while evoking her childhood memories through a tasty, inventive menu. With its warm, gourmet atmosphere, Café de Luce is a haven of conviviality in the heart of the capital.

With these Welli'Wednesday evenings, Amandine Chaignot honors one of gastronomy's classics! Beef Wellington is an emblematic dish of British gastronomy, combining the flavor of tender, juicy beef with the delicacy of crispy puff pastry. Its origins date back to the 19th century and are often associated with the name of the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, who is said to have been particularly fond of the dish.

However, it's difficult to say for sure whether Beef Wellington really takes its name from the famous soldier, or whether it's the result of culinary inspiration from the French tradition of filet de boeuf en croûte. Be that as it may, Beef Wellington has become a popular dish on British tables, especially for special occasions and celebrations.

To make this tasty dish, a piece of beef is coated with duxelles, a finely chopped mixture of mushrooms, shallots and herbs, before being wrapped in puff pastry and baked in the oven. The result is a rich, gourmet dish that marries flavors and textures to perfection, much to the delight of food lovers.

A menu dedicated to Wellington beef that the editorial team was able to try. And we were particularly taken with the chef's proposal! For starters, there were three plates to share: frogs' legs with almond parsley, a cassolette of snails with herb and garlic butter, and egg mayonnaise with wild herbs. The frogs' legs were meltingly soft and the mayonnaise eggs particularly well-spiced.

Special mention should be made of the snails, which were particularly well seasoned. The breadcrumbs used in this starter not only gratinate the snails a little, but also absorb the excess fat from the garlic butter and add texture, resulting in a particularly interesting chewiness in the mouth.

As for the main course, the beef Wellington is to die for! Extremely melt-in-the-mouth, the piece of meat was accompanied by a homemade mashed potato and a small bowl of salad with soy vinaigrette. A particularly interesting blend of flavors. Note that the meat juice is brought to you in a sauceboat, and perfectly complements the tasting of the dish.

And for dessert, crêpes flambéed with orange, to end the meal on a sweet note. The crêpes are sweet, but not too sweet either: the orange supremes add an interesting freshness to the dessert, while the zests add character to the whole. A great way to end the meal!