As discreet as they are talented, chef Thomas Graham shakes the French classics in Mermoz, in Paris. Awakened, vegetable and daring, the cuisine of this 29-year-old Anglo-American is also discovered through regular pop-ups.
“The omelette was a hole in my racket. In California, where I grew up, my mother was essentially preparing too cooked scrambled eggs. And at Le Cordon Bleu school, in Paris, where I came to train me after high school, I learned the basics of French gastronomy, but not the omelet.
It never posed a problem for me until I integrated the Haï Kaï restaurant [Quai de Jemmapes in Paris, now closed] from the Amélie Darvas head. One day, a client presents herself, she does not eat fish or meat, and Amélie has the idea of preparing an omelette. The client loves, she becomes a regular. For weeks, I do not pay much attention to the preparation of the omelet, that Amélie manages in her corner.
And then, one day, Amélie is not there and, as an executive chief, I replace her; The client arrives and commands her omelet. I didn’t know how to do it, but I had no choice. Obviously, I did not take the right stove or enough eggs, I didn’t move them enough, I set fire too hard, it hung. I served something really zero. The client was furious, the indoor team made me feel it, Amélie learned it and was not happy either. It was undoubtedly one of the worst cooking moments of my life.
put a slap
When I became a chief of Mermoz, in January 2020, I wanted to take my revenge on the omelet. To transform this basic recipe, which we eat everywhere but which is never stunning, into a dish capable of putting a slap. The containment of spring 2020 gave me time.
The base is always good organic eggs, a hazelnut butter, onion and fresh seasonal herbs. And the twist is the Yuzu Kosho, which I prepare myself: I take yuzus that I plunge into a bath of sugar and salt for several months before mixing them with olive oil. It allows you to use the whole citrus and keep your acidity very frank. Besides, it goes well with the Parmesan that I grater on top.
When the omelet is ready, I roll it out of the heat in noma leaves, a technique that I learned during my internship at Noma, in Copenhagen. This veil has an aesthetic function – all green, the omelet is much prettier on the plate -, but it also brings a pleasant plant taste.
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