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- Michael Gebert
- Next’s version of Paul Bocuse’s “V.G.E.” (named for 1970s French president Valery Giscard D’Estaing), a soup course on stacked plates
But even the French don’t serve those kinds of whole fish covered with aspic and garnished with lemons cut into roses anymore, so now in the competition the fish course is plated for each judge individually. Recognizing the artifice and anachronism of the presentation platter, Next’s platters are full-on, impractical whimsy—one, which pays tribute to Chicago’s Printer’s Row, spells out “Bocuse d’Or” in metal type and includes a beef roulade plated on a vintage paper cutter. The actual dishes are more recognizably deconstructed (if that makes any sense; it does in Next’s world), turning sauces into solids and recasting a proper Bocuse dish like smoked pheasant into a plate that looks like a knocked-over flower pot. The one remaining practice that’s recognizably French is the stacking of plates—the tiniest bite might come out on four gold-rimmed plates, one on top of the other, to give it suitably Gallic pomp. That’s a playful sort of luxury—as opposed to heavy use of luxury ingredients, of which Beran says, “Anyone can serve a big chunk of foie, and it’s just a big chunk of foie. It’s kind of more fun [to do] without.”
- Michael Gebert
- Rib eye roulade on a vintage paper cutter
The desserts, in turn, are loosely based on the Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie, a pastry competition that runs parallel to the Bocuse d’Or, in which chefs are required to make an ice cream dessert and a plated dessert. Surprisingly, the dessert flavors turn out to be far more Illinois than Île Saint-Louis, using midwestern fall ingredients like apple, pecans, and huckleberries.
Next, 953 W. Fulton, 312-226-0858, nextrestaurant.com
