Hotel Normandie LA

Chef Gary Menes Finds Perfection in the Garden

"Chef Gary Menes was serving a 10-course tasting menu to a small group of diners. The sixth course, typically a crescendo of meat on ambitious tasting menus like his, was, in fact, a 60-day aged Musquee de Provence — a slice of pan-seared pumpkin. Menes moved from plate to plate, shaving flutters of white mushroom over each serving. Not white truffles but a humble white mushroom. His intimate 10-person counter, aptly called Le Comptoir, was awarded One MICHELIN Star in the inaugural edition of The MICHELIN Guide to California 2019." - Mahira Rivers