After a yearlong break, The Tasting Room at Nuwa Hotel (formerly Crown Towers) quietly reopened last month in a new space with a new chef, and a new set menu.

Chef de cuisine Frederic Thevenet brings over three decades of experience working in restaurants in France and the UK. His most recent posting was at La Maison 1888 at DaNang Intercontinental, Vietnam.

He started working in the kitchen at age 15, gradually going up the ladder to head Restaurant Bruno, a Michelin-star restaurant in Provence owned by Bruno Cirino.

“He is one of my biggest influences,” Thevenet said. “Every day, we would receive fresh produce from France and Italy, like the $2 artichokes that we prepared and served at the restaurant.”

At the end of the day, everything that was unused was disposed of to make room for next day’s deliveries.

“(Cirino) didn’t want to keep things in the refrigerator; produce always had to be fresh,” Thevenet said.

The chef brings to The Tasting Room this attention to detail and a high regard for freshness. The hotel’s fine dining outlet used to be helmed by chef William Mahi who has since put up his own restaurant, 210 Degrees, in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.

Thevenet uses a combination of imported ingredients and local produce, but admitted that consistency when it came to sourcing the latter was challenging. It took him two months to find a foreign supplier who could provide beef that met his standards.

Pastel-pink treat

This hasn’t stopped him from experimenting with what’s available, whether it be fresh or—in the case of his banana catsup ice cream—bottled. For Valentine’s last week, Thevenet created a limited-edition palate cleanser for the restaurant’s four- and six-course set menus, which guests could order with or without paired wines.

“I tried and liked your banana catsup, so I thought of serving an ice cream version between the lobster bisque and the Wagyu beef tenderloin,” he said.

The result was a pastel-pink treat topped with matching pink peppercorns. Served beside it was a pale-yellow scoop of papaya-pineapple ice cream.

“I realized you really have to enjoy what you’re doing,” Thevenet said. “I’d prefer a restaurant filled with people enjoying the food over a Michelin-star one with few diners.”

The chef’s playfulness is apparent in the dishes he created for his set menus that riff on textures and flavors.

Sea bass carpaccio topped with thinly sliced radishes is alternately chewy and crunchy. Chopped veal tongue, pickles and celeriac served in separate containers add a dash of tingling acidity. The ravioli with porcini and king prawns with green curry and coconut is rich and flavorful, while the lobster bisque is meaty and spiked with Espelette pepper.

Even the chocolate dessert, prepared by a pastry chef, is a combination of sweet and piquant, the latter from the lychee and champagne sauce served on the side.

In the next few weeks, Thevenet will be coming out with an a la carte menu that he intends to change regularly.