French Star Anne-Sophie Pic Explodes Onto London Dining Scene

“It went very well!” Last night was opening night at La Dame de Pic at the new Four Seasons hotel in London, and chef Anne-Sophie Pic is pleased. “I am so excited to open my first restaurant in the UK. It is a real challenge for a French chef to open a restaurant in London.” She describes London diners as “spoiled for choice” thanks to the city’s diverse dining scene, but if anyone’s up to the challenge of capturing London’s attention, it’s Pic, the only woman in France to currently hold three Michelin stars (for her eponymous restaurant in Valence).

The London opening is an outpost of her Parisian restaurant of the same name. There’s a shared culinary sensibility, but diners shouldn’t expect carbon copies. “Here at La Dame de Pic London, I will be combining my French culinary identity — based on sauce for example — with English produce,” says the chef. “There is so much to discover, from grouse to Stilton [cheese] and outstanding seafood, to name just a few of my favorite products.”

American tourists looking to try her food closer to home, though, will have to wait. Although news of Pic’s expansion to New York City garnered serious buzz, the chef confirms that those projects are not currently active, saying “the project has been postponed.” Here, a quick look inside La Dame de Pic in London:

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• French Chef Anne-Sophie Pic Is Bringing Her Restaurant Empire to London [E]
• Is America Ready for Chef Anne-Sophie Pic and Her Impeccable Palate? [E]