A Korean-born chef is turning heads in Paris, bringing a taste of Asia via Sydney to the wine bar scene.
What used to be a souvenir shop selling Eiffel Towers in the busy neighbourhood of Arts et Métiers in Paris is now a wine bar. The name, “CAM”, printed in crude typography on the façade, hasn’t changed, but if that’s a nod to the old Paris, what you’ll find inside is a far cry from steak frites and Burgundy.
Offering natural wines and food imbued with spices and flavours less often seen in the city of light, CAM fuses the French wine bar tradition with far-reaching influences that speak to the pedigree of owner Phil Euell, a New Yorker who also owns Boot Café in the 3rd arrondissement, and chef Esu Lee, a 26-year old Korean who’s cooked under Jowett Yu, Dan Hong and the late Jeremy Strode.
Where to eat in Paris right now
The flank steak ‘Commander Style’, for example, is a reference to the two years Lee spent in the South Korean army, working as personal chef to the commander-in-chief. Marinated in soy sauce, honey and burnt garlic, the beef is seared over flames before being glazed once again in a sticky marinade. There’s also a tartare served with gochujang and XO sauce, honeydew icy-poles and a cuttlefish dish seasoned with ginger, smoked pork dressing and green chilli oil that’s named after the birthplace of reggae, Trench Town.
“The dishes I make, maybe you’ve seen them before,” says Lee. “But not here in Paris.”
Fresh from a stint in Hong Kong and without a word of French in his vocabulary, Lee has managed to pull off what is his first head chef gig with the help of friends James Henry (formerly of Bones and Belon) and Jeff Claudio (Yardbird). In the process, he’s created a menu that speaks to the area’s history as Paris’s original Chinatown. And locals are taking notice. After just a few months, CAM pulls a crowd of wine folk, chefs, musicians and photographers, and is gaining a foothold in a city whose food scene never stops reinventing itself.
CAM, 55 rue au Maire, 75003, Paris
