As in all team pursuits, when it ‘clicks’, everyone in the team just knows.
A winning aura develops and competitors certainly feel your presence. It feels that way at Paris Butter in Herne Bay. Founded in 2016 by Chef Nick Honeyman and his partner Sina Honeyman, Paris Butter originally started in the style of a French bistro. After a couple of years, however, they really felt that their heart was in fine dining. Chef Zennon Wijlens joined the team in 2019 and Nick and Zennon just clicked. Their shared love for food and travel gave them inspiration to create dishes that brought back the memories of the amazing locations and cuisine they encountered around the world. Zennon bought into Paris Butter in 2022 and assumed the role of Executive Chef. By now, the menu and the restaurant were really evolving into a unique and exceptional establishment. Having worked at legendary places in Oz such as Tetzuya and Momofuku, Zennon felt that Paris Butter no longer needed to follow the path of a single cuisine or culture. Just like any great artist, he was classically French trained, Escoffier was and still is here, but with his numerous global experiences, no ingredient or style was ‘off the table’.
The team grew I imagine in the way that a great jazz melody just ‘becomes’. Zennon brought in Head Chef Zac Duxfield. On fine wines and beverages the super talented and close friend of mine, Ben Carmine. In ops and management, Catherine George. The team just vibed. A shared passion, ethos and spirit combined with talent to make ‘PB’ what it is today. When you visit, simply leave your taste buds in their capable hands, you will be transported.
Oh, and what a delicious and sumptuous affair. Zennon with a big smile plates his spring desert. A blackberry sorbet moulded as perfectly formed blackberries and olive oil jelly and ice cream, white chocolate with fig leaf oil. Fresh and sweet. As you savour you are transported to country lanes lined with hedgerows, surrounded by the songs of skylarks and sparrows, imbued with blue skies, the odd cloud and endless days filled equally with purpose and leisure. Life is blooming, eternal, that oh so blissful place with such minimal awareness that the corner is approaching and the end of the road is nigh.
In such a place the only drink is a quality rosé – The 2023 144 Islands Coco Maeve Rosé, made from syrah and viognier, the wine is named after owner Jake Dromgool’s youngest daughter, Coco Maeve. It is a Tavel and Bandol-inspired dry rosé, made with fruit purposefully designated for a wine of this style... “Our daughter Coco is undeniably independent and full of character and in light of this, we have sought to make a rosé which stands out on its own merits as a beautiful fine wine.”
And so I raise a toast, “To our beautiful children and intoxicating springs. May your life spring eternal.” (PUNEET DHALL)