Chef Alain Ducasse, who currently holds twenty-one Michelin stars, has teamed up with Dom Pérignon and renowned chefs Albert Adrià (one Michelin star), Romain Meder (3 Michelin stars) and Jessica Préalpato to create ADMO, an exclusive dining experience on a roof terrace overlooking the Eiffel Tower. Candice Tucker travelled to Paris to find out more

ADMO bills itself as an ephemeral restaurant experience due to the fact that it’s open for 100 days only, but it doesn’t really seem the right way to describe a fourteen course, multi-sensory menu, created by five of the world’s best chefs and paired with Dom Pérignon Rosé 2008. Decadent is the word that comes to mind and perhaps, a touch hedonistic.

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Situated on the top floor of Musée du Quai Branly, the restaurant has a prime position overlooking the Eiffel Tower, which as the clock strikes the hour, is illuminated by brilliant lights. Cynics might pass it off as naff, but it feels suitably sparkly for a champagne feast.

The fusion of philosophy and food makes ADMO stand out from other gastronomic experiences. The menu specifically excluded meat products, to emphasise its green credentials. Being presented in a minimalist fashion, it further highlighted the importance for people to appreciate food for its refined quality whilst fully satisfying one’s appetite.

Read more: Standard Chartered’s Eugenia Koh on Next Gen Investors

The small tables and dim lighting, made the grand culinary experience, warm and intimate. Between each course, there was lively conversation amongst the journalists, food and champagne connoisseurs, but as each course was placed in front of the guests, the room fell silent. Every plate – notably, the crispy pastry sheet with red mullet and fried scales – provided an explosion of perfectly balanced, fresh flavours that were enhanced by the champagne pairing.

© François Goizé

Speaking at the launch event, Alain Ducasse explained how each dish at ADMO aims to encapsulate a philosophy of sustainability (all ingredients are locally sourced except the caviar which comes from the north of Shanghai), suggesting that this will, increasingly, define the future of fine dining. “There will be more of these types of projects. There will be more attention on better food, thinking more about the food we can eat and food that is better for the planet,” he said. “I believe this is the roadmap [for the future] and it will not end.”

Vincent Chaperon, Dom Pérignon’s Chef de Cave, also commented on the importance of taking a sustainable approach: “I believe that if we focus on [sustainability], more people will embrace this approach. More doesn’t mean quantitative, it’s qualitative. This kind of project encourages people to recognise a new art of living [that centres around] our relationship with nature. We have to preserve and not only interact.”

If ADMO is a taste of what the future will bring, we’re very much on board.

ADMO is open from Tuesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner at Les Ombres au Musée du quai Branly. For more information, visit: admo.lesombres-restaurant.com

Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour at Château de Chantilly outside Paris. Photograph by Gavin Elder

Filmmaker Gavin Elder has created films for the likes David Lynch, Mark Ronson, Duran Duran, ACDC and Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour. Here, he speaks to Paige Nelson about his career highlights, the challenges of shooting in a Roman amphitheatre and capturing the atmosphere of live music on video

1. Did always want to work in the film industry?

I picked up my Dad’s Super 8 camera when I was ten years old. The unique Super 8 sound, and the tactile feel of film running through the camera lit something inside me.

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2. Who have been the most interesting people to work with so far?

Working with David Gilmour has been an absolute high point. I remember the very first day we started filming at Bray Studios, he was rehearsing with the other members of Pink Floyd [Rick Wright and Nick Mason], and someone shouted, ‘Let’s do C Numb!’ They launched into ‘Comfortably Numb’, and the hairs on the back of my neck jumped up.

Fans at an ACDC concert in Buenos Aires. Photograph by Gavin Elder

3. How do you create the atmosphere of a concert in a film?

This varies from artist to artist, but I think the most important element is for the performer to be relaxed enough with the process of filming that they focus on the music and their performance. My role is to then select camera positions and capture the show without being obtrusive. The musical highlights, subtle glances and infectious smiles between band members together with the audience create the magic.

Read more: Chopard’s Caroline Scheufele on versatile jewellery design

4. Is there any person you would drop everything to do a documentary on?

Don’t they say you should never meet your heroes? Working with David Lynch on a project for Dom Pérignon was extraordinary; he had such a great sense of humour and incredible focus while working. I remember the laughter, and a great sense of team work.

In 2011, Elder created a short film capturing behind-the-scenes footage of David Lynch (above)  shooting Dom Pérignon’s new campaign. Photograph by Gavin Elder.

5. Are there any artists who have inspired your works?

I think street art as much as fine art has influenced my approach. I’ve made films with Faile, Shepard Fairey and street artist Ludo. Giles Walker made a phenomenal piece titled The Last Supper which I documented. I travel extensively and different cities around the world contribute to the vitality and energy in my work.

6. What are biggest challenges of any project, and how has the pandemic affected the film industry?

When we filmed Live At Pompeii all the equipment had to be hauled by hand down a specially built road to the edge of the Roman amphitheatre – a logistical challenge, which the local Italians rose to. During the show, a rogue drone flew dangerously low over the audience and a laser team tried to disable the drone’s camera with a focused laser beam. The drone footage has never surfaced so perhaps they were successful.

The pandemic has been devastating [for the film industry]! Numerous projects have been cancelled, although some work has started to trickle back now. There have been some interesting online concerts and new approaches to entertaining fans, but it’s difficult to replicate the live feel, the bass in your chest, the shared experience, the intensity.

Follow Gavin Elder on Instagram: @gavin_elder

Bentley’s latest Bentayga SUV is more environmentally friendly, faster, more comfortable

LUX Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai discovers Bentley’s new, faster and more environmentally friendly Bentayga model revealed earlier this week

You, dear LUX reader, have a transport conundrum. Your driver is self-isolating, and you have a desperate need to transport yourself, your latest husband, two very long adolescent offspring, and a large number of Louis Vuitton suitcases, from the private aviation terminal at Nice airport to your villa above St Tropez. (The husband does not do helicopters).

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We are pleased to say that a solution is at hand, courtesy of British (well, British-based) automobile manufacturer Bentley and its new Bentayga SUV, announced this week.

You will naturally have been familiar with the existing Bentayga, which was pretty much the most luxurious way to transport a large family at frightening speed while taking up most of the Autoroute Provencale.

The new model is more environmentally friendly, faster, more comfortable and has more room in the rear for those ever-growing adolescents, or alternatively your long-legged late night companions home from La Voile Rouge and, crucially, it looks better: sleeker, and less huge.

Read more: Two of London’s best restaurants in our home

Apparently, it drives better also, thanks to a wider track between the wheels and various other improvements that we won’t go into here. The key point is that you will feel like les genoux de l’abeille (the bee’s knees) as you hand the keys to the voiturier at Les Caves. Now, where’s the alcohol-free Dom Perignon?

Discover more: bentleymotors.com

Rock star turned interior designer Lenny Kravitz created a limited-edition collection for Dom Pérignon

The rock star turned interior designer takes the LUX hot seat, and shares a particularly fond memory involving a bottle of 1964 Dom Pérignon. Interview by Irene Bellucci

1. You’re best known as a musician, what drew you to interior design?

Because you can create the environment around you. It’s like theatre. That’s what I do – I feel the vibe, the mood. For the piece I designed for Dom Pérignon, I wanted to create a piece of furniture unique, never done before, building an object representing the idea of drinking champagne.

2. What inspires you?

Life. I just have to open my eyes and look or close my eyes and listen. I’m inspired by what’s around me.

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3. Who do you confide in about your art?

Artists – people who have great eyes and can always tell me their true opinion.

4. You collaborated with Dom Pérignon on a photographic series, Assemblage, and you’re also its new creative director. Is there an interaction between different forms of art for you?

They feel each other and they are connected. I always loved to create, but after a month in the studio making music, you need to take a break. Not because you want to stop creating, but because you need to change and come back fresh. That’s why I go to shoot pictures, or I go and design objects.

5. What’s your fondest memory of drinking champagne?

I still remember one evening drinking 1964 Dom Pérignon at Château Dom Pérignon. I spent that evening in front of the fireplace with a friend. It was extravagant. I’ve always been a champagne lover, and I am very close to the chef de cave at Dom Pérignon, even before starting our amazing collaboration. Everything started out of a friendship.

6. Speaking of Dom Pérignon, what’s your favourite way to drink it?

I like to go high and low, that’s the beauty of it. Before this interview I was sat here, sipping champagne and eating my vegan pizza – it was perfect. You don’t need to do anything too extravagant.

Read more: Artist Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar’s tales of sadness and beauty

7. Tell us about the casting of Assemblage?

At the beginning I didn’t choose my daughter, Zoë, but they asked me, and she said yes. We had fun; it was a great group of people. Susan [Sarandon] is such a force, still so young, vibrant and beautiful. And Alexander [Wang] came with Zoë – they have known each other since high school.

8. Are you working on residential projects?

Yes, we are doing six residential projects in Miami, Malibu, Aspen and Detroit, but more are coming.

9. What are the challenges you face when designing?

Everything starts with a space in which I see the object I’m going to design, because I always design something that I want to use. I ask myself how I can amplify the space without taking over it; it’s a balance.

10. Where does the creative process start for you?

My mood board always helps me to visualise my ideas. I love to work with people that want to make art, in complete freedom; you can go deep and find unique and exceptional pieces. At the moment, there is a lot of interest in fine vintage furniture, pieces by Gabriella Crespi, Paul Evans, Pierre Jeanneret, to name a few.

11. Tell us about your design style?

I love to work in different environments – the concepts I create for the countryside are different from what I create in the city. However, you can see the thread in my work. The furniture is very sculptural, the art and the lighting are both important for my aesthetic. And I always look for organic materials, such as stone and wood.

12. And finally, how would you describe your life in a song title?

My first album, my first song. Let Love Rule. This drives my creativity and my life since.

Discover Lenny Kravitz’s limited-edition collection for Dom Pérignon: domperignon.com/uk-en

This article was originally published in the Autumn 19 Issue.