François-Paul Journe (left) and chef Dominique Gauthier sealed their partnership over a phone call (Photo: FP Journe Le Restaurant)
Whether François-Paul Journe is tinkering away in his watchmaking atelier or the kitchen, his face, upon making an unusual discovery, is eminently expressive. The only three-time winner of the Aiguille d’Or, which rewards the best overall timepiece at the yearly Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), can be waxing lyrical about a chronometer or a cucumber smoked to a crispy char, and enthusiasts, enticed, will invariably want it for themselves. Journe, the celebrated visionary of his eponymous brand, once mentioned that waiting for a FP Journe watch could take 10 years. But his interpretation of a fish fumet? Not so long, thankfully.
Journe prefers being a person to becoming a personality; he savours recognition only if his intellectual pieces are not turned into status-conferring toys for the super rich. Similar to putting his initials on a dial, plastering his name atop a dining establishment and choosing a chef to helm it requires the same precision as devising the two oscillating balance wheels — one an exciter, the other a resonator — in his most renowned masterpiece, the Chronomètre à Résonance. Veteran Dominique Gauthier, after heading the Michelin-starred Le Chat Botté restaurant at the luxurious Swiss hotel
Beau-Rivage Genève across the lake for 30 years, arrived in the hour of need.
Erected in the 1850s, the building FP Journe Le Restaurant inhabits at luxury shopping street Rue du Rhône used to house numerous eateries such as grill joint Le Relais de l’Entrecôte, upscale Trattoria Marjolaine and, most famously, the Bavaria. The latter, located on the first floor of a former Baezner bank in 1912, was established by pharmacist Adolphe Neiger. A favourite haunt among heads of state and journalists after WWI, the Bavarian-style pub even courted the attention of UK’s ex-prime minister Neville Chamberlain and Germany’s foreign minister Gustav Stresemann. Now, the city’s newest power “couple”, Journe and a jaunty Gauthier, attempts an admirable follow-up.
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Raised by a salesman father and civil servant mother, Journe, an unruly misfit, was expelled from the Marseille Horological School at 16 before moving to Paris and training under his uncle, Michel, who worked as a restorer of watches and clocks. The ebullient apprentice grew a bigger rebel, an industry provocateur who draws inspiration from brilliant minds of the 18th century — Janvier, Breguet and Berthoud — to create marvels of the future. Journe’s aberrant fantasies are not, by all means, direct reference points for Gauthier’s modern Mediterranean cooking, but the freewheeling inventiveness they share helps Geneva’s stultified gastronomic scene shuffle along.
FP Journe Le Restaurant is brimming with vindications of fusion, thanks in no small part to Gauthier’s penchant for Asian cuisine as he has travelled often to Thailand. The chef lets ingredients come out of their shell, like the scampi, whose natural juices are released and then sealed in a nest of golden brown kadaif that any Turkish eatery would be proud to claim. Flavours are thoughtfully harmonic, like the splash of citrus in the basil dressing that coyly plays off the brine of the plump crustacean. The menu says this is a signature à la carte that can be enjoyed alone or shared. Luckily, we did not bring a friend.
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Maybe because Gauthier grew up foraging the bounty at our feet, in his mother’s garden fertile with sun-kissed tomatoes and wild herbs, that he understands the potential of locally sourced produce. He has befriended a neighbourhood: Pierre Gallay farm supplies the restaurant with leafy greens; Nant d’Avril (poultry), Minder family (beef) and Niels Rodin (citrus fruits). The salmon in our three-part set lunch originates from Lostallo, a village nestled at the base of the Swiss Alps that raises fish sustainably in water harvested from glaciers or melted snow. The chef suggests you sample this silky slab of protein cured in salt (just for five minutes), drizzled with smoked oil, beet vinaigrette and a dash of yuzu that lends a zippy brightness.
The growing respect for the pure and uncomplicated is looking like an engine — the mainspring, if you will — for a whole new movement in gastronomy. Journe focuses on execution, and finesse on a plate is only attainable if everyone in the supply chain does their part, from the boat to the dock to the delivery truck. Proof is in the restaurant’s effiloché (pulled) beef cheek, rested on a mound of creamy potatoes and celery purée. You will need a robust Bordeaux to temper the richness of this caramelised entrée that can be gently teased apart by a fork — don’t be embarrassed to ask the staff for the price of their exclusive selection from France’s Domaine Château Seguin because they will not be shy to tell you.
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A lull between courses is an opportune moment to inspect the many easter eggs burrowed in the decor, if the 17th-century astronomical clock bearing the signature “Giovanni Brugell Venetia” — anchoring the 52-seater space — has not elicited involuntary gasps already. The melding of horlogerie and haute cuisine has been meticulously thought out, from the drawings of watch components adorning wood-panelled walls to the motifs of an artisan’s tools — cogs, needles and screws — embellishing the knife handles. Each table is not numbered but named after watchmaking legends such as mathematician Jost Bürgi, pendulum clock inventor Christiaan Huygens and founder of Rolex, Hans Wilsdorf.
As a reward for sitting through an exhausting business lunch, Gauthier thinks you deserve dessert. Rhubarb, a vegetable masquerading as a fruit, is not exactly a hot favourite in a course that is at least 70% about impressing people. But turn it into a confit, paired with strawberry sorbet, smashed meringue as well as a smattering of Thai basil, and you will start a following. The finale is a delicious distillation of spring, when the ingredients are at the height of their powers.
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Journe’s new culinary journey has come full circle, ever since he flirted with the idea of cooking a long time ago because of his son — he wanted the young child and his friends to come home to a warm meal after a day of frolicking in the fields. An idle hobby turned into a dedication for this father who spent every minute thinking about how to fill each serving with a few more ounces of pleasure. Such persistence is later reflected in his ethos as a watchmaker and now, restaurateur. During Journe’s career, his motto has been “Invenit et Fecit” — Latin for “He invented it and made it”. The menu cover, cleverly, is debossed with “Invenit et Coxit”, or “He invented it and cooked it”.
One of the greatest horologers in the world is preaching the calibre of fine cuisine in Switzerland. What a wonderful time we live in.
FP Journe Le Restaurant, Rue du Rhône, 49, Geneva, Switzerland. Make reservations at fpjourne-le-restaurant.ch. Set lunch from CHF65 (RM330). Multibrand horology fair Geneva Watch Days takes place from Aug 29 to Sept 2.
This article first appeared on Aug 19, 2024 in The Edge Malaysia.
