MARSAN,PARIS

Twenty years after her debut on the Left Bank in Paris, Hélène returned to her roots, reinventing N°4 Rue d’Assas with her new flagship restaurant, Marsan by Hélène Darroze on the original site of her Michelin-starred Restaurant Hélène Darroze in the 6th Arrondissement. Named after her home region in Les Landes in Southwestern France, Marsan opened its doors after an eleven-month refurbishment in 2019, presenting an exciting new menu and a stunningly redesigned interior. Famed for championing her producers, Hélène created dishes that lead her guests through a lifetime of global experience and bespoke recipes, “I like people to trust me,” she explains. At Marsan, she honours the roots of her culinary odyssey, including the region of her birth – an area of wild Atlantic beaches, lush pine forests opening onto vast, golden cornfields, and a part of France celebrated for its famous duck and Armagnac. These influences of home are a thread through Hélène’s menu, the inspiration from which she approaches and creates.

Over two decades, Hélène has used the idea of home as a basis from which to create and evolve. Her menus have journeyed and developed just as she has, absorbing the influences of the globe and significant life-defining movements, from the tandoors of India and the dashis of Japan to the intricate fragrances of Vietnam, hints of her travels can be found interspersed through dishes, leaning on the finest French produce, where possible.