Anne-Sophie Pic, the most Michelin-starred female chef, has launched her first mainland China project via Christian Dior‘s Monsieur Dior restaurant, located on the ground floor of House of Dior Beijing, which officially opened Thursday.
For Beijing, the French chef devised a tailor-made menu and a selection of her cakes and pastries inspired by the archives of founder Christian Dior.
“The goal was to create dishes that are true to my cuisine while still incorporating the codes of the House of Dior, because I believe that’s what makes the Dior restaurant unique — this harmony between the two worlds, this intersection that is ultimately very fertile for creativity,” said Pic during an exclusive food tasting with WWD.
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“As I was reading Christian Dior’s recipes, I saw that he used a lot of Noilly Prat, a French vermouth, and I really enjoyed using Noilly Prat here as well. It was also an homage to the chefs at the time, including my grandfather, who used it often as well,” said Pic of the brand’s founding couturier’s cookbook, which was published posthumously.
“We are not completely certain, but we are almost sure that Christian Dior ate at my grandfather’s restaurant,” added Pic, referring to her grandfather André Pic, who took over the family business and transformed it into a three-Michelin-star establishment in the 1930s.
In Beijing, Pic discovered local produce that allowed her to reinterpret her signature dish Les Perles, pairing crab, Yunnan caviar, and Chinese peas in a refreshing and delicate fashion.
Another of her signature dishes, Les Berlingots Léopard — a ravioli dish enhanced with leopard prints — uses a lighter cheese filling that’s meant to honor the Chinese and the French’s shared interest in fermented products, according to Pic.
“There are common vegetables between France and China, but the really special vegetables, for example bamboo, are something I’m very curious to discover and explore more,” said the chef, who added that the menu will be updated on a seasonal basis.
Pic’s delicate desserts — served here and in Café Dior outposts around the world — have become an essential part of the Pic experience. The millefeuille, refashioned with a Miss Dior houndstooth motif, and a Black Forest cake layered with gin, pink pepper, and pleated chocolate, are both classics that embody her delicate, architectural approach to pastry.
As the third Monsieur Dior restaurant and the first in China, the 38-seat establishment also offers al fresco dining and will be officially open early next year. Booking will be available via its dedicated WeChat Mini Program and an official website.
For Pic, her affair with Asian culture began with her love of tea — a signature ingredient across both savory and sweet dishes.
This time, with the help of the tea master Shuying Liu, whom Pic met in Beijing in 2023, a curated fine tea list was included in the menu. Inspired by the four seasons and classic Dior perfumes, the artisanal teas offer flavors that are both elegant and graceful, a shared aesthetic between Pic and Dior.
In addition to a signature cocktail and wine list, tea infusion pairings are meant to evoke a sense of sequencing, a dining experience inspired by the perfumery world.
“Sequencing means experiencing one flavor, then another, then a third. It’s a way of constructing taste, much like a perfumer builds a fragrance. I love creating that olfactory and gustatory progression,” said Pic. “What’s extraordinary about cooking is that it awakens all the senses, all the emotions.”
For example, a vegetarian dish built around beetroot, spruce bud, green currants, and Madras curry cream is paired with a jasmine tea with fennel, while a black oolong tea marries well with the umami flavor of mushrooms in the Léopard-printed ravioli dish.
“Pairings are also a bit of our signature at Maison Pic in Valence, and we wanted to do that here as well. Of course, that doesn’t prevent great wines from being served, yet for certain moments of the day, they [tea pairings] offer a kind of breathing space in the menu,” Pic explained.