October 2023: Sweet Spot, Talking Shop With Jamini's Usha Bora & Openings
The hype aside, I've been talking to some super-creative artists, chefs and business owners, checking out their shops, shows, magazines and restaurants that I can't wait to share with you.
Sweet spot. La rentrée: it’s what the French call that post-summer period in September when suddenly sipping rosé from lunch into dinnertime is no longer acceptable and instead, you find yourself thrown into the vortex of back-to-school mayhem. This year, la rentrée was like jumping off one of those really high swimming pool diving boards that propels you upwards. How you land depends on how you jump. I’m still up in the air, making the most of it before Christmas mania kicks in, and rounding up some really great spots I’ve come to love.
Hope you enjoy this edit - happy October! Roxy x
4 things on my radar this month
An art fair focused on talent from the African continent, the return of Drum and Bass, a magazine to lose yourself in, and a food pop-up that’s an ode to dishwashers
Get under the surface of artistic talent from or descending from the African continent at AKAA (Also Known As Africa) art and design fair, which I’ve been meaning to check out every year since it launched. Love the laid-back approach to changing misconceptions about “African art” by giving today’s artists a platform, broadening their reach to the elitist realm of contemporary art. This year, the fair brings together 37 international galleries and 117 artists, under one roof at the Carreau du Temple in the Marais from 20-22 October. akaafair.com
Party well into the early hours at the Glazart’s Forever DNB (drum and bass) 10th anniversary. Ever since discovering drum and bass in the old-days of Fabric nightclub in London, my home town, I’ve been very partial to the musical genre. Hold onto your hats though, DJs like James Breakage (pictured in this newsletter opener) are going to set the place on fire at the Berlin-type techno club that’s stayed true to its roots. Not for the faint-hearted, but a great night to let loose for fans of electronic music with heavy bass and UK 1990s jungle undertones. glazart.com
Pick up a copy of MATTO, the subversive art magazine for the independent minded, beautifully put together by the art directors of MATTO Studio. I initially met Dominika Hadelova, from the Czech Republic, and Aldo Buscalferri, from Italy, in 2019, when we worked together on revamping a bunch of magazines for Accor. They were and continue to be an inspiration for their creativity, which this seventh issue confirms again. It explores how clouds are what connects us by way of stories with American artists Brennan Gerard and Ryan Kelly, Polish conceptual artist Agata Ingarden and many more. mattostudio.com
Eat at We Are Ona’s pop-up where food will be whipped up by the young Michelin-starred chef Dalad Kambhu (pictured in this newsletter opener) who takes her cues from traditional Thai gastronomy. As is customary for the clan behind the pop-ups, the scenography will be just as eye-catching as previous issues, like the one I went to last year in an old photography studio which they transformed into an abandoned building being reclaimed by nature. This time around, together with Crosby Studios, they will be putting the spotlight on the restaurant back-of-house and the dishwashing area, which will be visible and accessible. The dinners will run during Paris+ art fair from 17-22 October. weareona.co
—> A few other things on my radar in Paris this month
On the menu
All the places that have made my heart skip a beat (probably literally. I mean, the French do love their butter, and I do love my bacon)
Influenced to go naked at Les Naturistes
Not me, the food. Because they serve well sourced, simple produce with a tasteful kick like their crispy cromesquis, like a giant golden croquette to share. It’s a great spot where you could take anyone. Well, almost. Sexy positions revealed slowly with every bite, adorn the crockery by Karla Sutra (more on this enigmatic young artist next month) who influenced me to pop in here by way of her Instastories. You have been warned.
Cuisine: what it says on the tin
Cuisine is the French for kitchen and cooking - essentially one and the same thing here. Some places have kitchens but what they serve can’t really be called cuisine. Thankfully, it’s not the case for the clan here who know a thing or two about kitchens and cooking. The Japanese inspired food of chef Takao Inazawa, like grilled mackerel with white rice, shiso, grated daïkon and homemade ponzu, stands out against the retro interiors - a palette of dark red and washed-out turquoise tiling and mirrors, which, surprisingly, gives the place a happy edge. Been meaning to check this place out for so long - I’ve already booked to go back.
Crazy for… Mokonuts
Ok, bad jokes aren’t necessary, especially when you taste anything this duo’s plating up. There are few places that have boggled my mind as much as Moko Hirayama et Omar Koreitem’s cooking. I was here for a Design Hotels get-together where I met some quirky hoteliers who told us about the absolute weirdest things hotel guests get up to in their rooms (maybe a story for another newsletter?) and fabulous people I want to see again. We had the freshest, tastiest tomato salad and fleshy lobster cooked to perfection. Mokonuts has flown to the top of my restaurant list.
Bacon alert: PaperBoy
If you didn’t see my Instastory about this pile - no, this mound - of crispy bacon goodness, then here’s a picture above. The place itself looks like a bathroom at best of times (to borrow my new friend and super-creative map-maker Sonja’s expression, which I’m now shamelessly throwing around as my own), or a teenager’s pad (whatever you do, don’t look at their Insta) but the guys are super friendly and the breakfast food is so good it caught me off-guard.
If you or the person who’s taking you out to dinner’s got cash to flash: Lucas Carton
Every time I walked by the humungous colonnaded Madeleine Church, I would look up at the white lettering of this grande maison and wonder what’s become of it, until the other day. I happened to be having lunch with the restaurant’s new press relations agent who told me three things about Lucas Carton I didn’t know: the first is that it’s actually been open all this time. The second is the name of the chef: Hugo Bourny. Third, his food is so good that it blows minds. That’s a big claim to make in Paris but, as I found out for myself, it’s completely true. He’s even got a Michelin star. It’s a wonderfully soulful space from the 1800s with Art Nouveau carved wood panels and red zebra-print carpets, with divine food like tea-smoked red mullet that tastes like it’s just been caught. The service, led by Italian maestro Marcantoine, takes you way back in time to the golden days of dining, which I’m a huge sucker for.
Because it’s not all about Paris: Domaine les Bruyères
The thing about Paris is that the countryside’s never very far away. For instance, drive 40 minutes west and you’ll land at this little restaurant with rooms in a pocket close to the Rambouillet forest. Situated on a centuries-old garden with an 1850s stone house, chef Cybèle, hailing from San Francisco, and her French husband Franck Idelot, have transformed the place into an alluring farmhouse-style home with a handful of guest rooms and a patch giving enough veggies to supply the kitchen here and at the couple’s neo-bistro nearby, all year. Cybèle’s cooking is rooted in sustainable, zero-waste practices and is largely focused on vegetables, although there is meat and fish on the menu. It’s a perfect spot to take a breather from city life and explore the area, especially if you’re going to the Château de Versailles which is a 30-minute drive away (you’ll need a place to eat on the way).
Go with the Flo: Paris news from a fellow foodie
This month, Flo’s frolicking in old-school French flan goodness. See why, see where (also en français)
Even if it doesn't seem like it, autumn is well and truly here, and with it has returned our cravings for tea time. Or rather, as they say in Paris, for "le goûter" (a mid-afternoon snack or tea-time treat).
This year, forget about madeleines, macarons, or other overly sophisticated show-off creations; the star of Parisian tea-time is the good old flan. Yes, this somewhat rustic and very simple cake (puff pastry, eggs, vanilla, and custard) is back.
It's everywhere, from low-key neighbourhood bakeries to the fancy palace hotels, all the way to star pastry chefs’ boutiques. Everyone adds their personal touch (or rather, their hint of this or that), revisits it, gives it their own twist. There are even competitions for the best flan, Instagram accounts devoted to it, and even flan festivals and flan tours.
Another culinary writer, François Blanc, is also obsessed with the quivering cake. He even dedicates an entire book to it. A wealth of knowledge, references, and recipes, largely created with one of the masters of the genre, Quentin Lechat, pastry chef at the five-star Royal Monceau Hotel in Paris, who lets his creativity run wild.
In fact, I asked François how he would describe a flan to a Brit, like Roxy of What’s Up Paris?, clueless about the flan’s icon status: "A flan is like a custard tart, with vanilla, only a tad higher."
However, if you don't feel like getting into your pastry chef whites and would rather go straight to enjoying a flan, here are five of my own very top flan spots.
Words by Florence Valencourt
Usha Bora from Jamini Design on business, babies and bad behaviour
The second time I saw her, she was wearing designer sunglasses and a chequered green and yellow blouse with puffed sleeves embroidered with green flowers, teamed with casual jeans and trainers. She waited patiently for me at a café on the Canal Martin, as I ran late (as usual I can hear my friends sigh as they read this). Her outfit that sunny day on the canal, was a marker of her eye for detail and fabric design, on which her flourishing business Jamini Design is built on.
I first met her at an event at her gorgeous store in Paris 10 where she’s been selling colourful homeware and magnificent throws, all block-printed in India. “Everything is printed by hand using only blocks - one for each colour,” she tells me and the small group of other English-media journalists at the event. Ever since she opened her store in 2014, Usha’s been an ambassador for authentic Indian artisan craft. “At the time, people didn’t value craft, people liked design,” she tells me when I finally arrive at the café.
Usha orders a Perrier with a slice of lemon. Bubbly but sharp, just like the person she comes across as. I find out she’s also strong and extremely independent, which she’s had to be. While Jamini’s a success today - her products are on sale across no less than 300 points across the world - it hasn’t been an easy ride.
After graduating from one of the best business schools in India and a stint working in Hong Kong, she landed in Paris on a scholarship and began working at L’Oréal after having sent CVs to every company in town.
She fell in love with France and was determined to stay. “I saw how much we take the independence, freedom and safety of women here for granted. I love how free women are. They can go anywhere, dress how they want. It’s getting better in India now but it’s still tricky,” says Usha. “Also I love the rich and diverse arts scene here, especially the music and museums.”
The turning point came when she had her first child. “What did I want to pass on? How important was my Indian identity? It opened up a box of questions for me and I knew I needed to reconnect with India,” she tells me.
She stepped onto her current path unknowingly. “I had been buying fabric for a super-creative friend for her company each time I would go to India for a holiday. She loved everything I would choose for her. I would get more and more commissions from her, so in 2012, I decided to go into working with brands like Agnès b,” she remembers. “It was a success and I realised that this bi-cultural mindset I had developed: a taste for French design and an Indian sense for colour, was something unique,” she says. “I never really thought about my being an Indian woman - I believed in the product, in what I was selling, and that’s it.”
Suitcases all over her apartment overflowed with samples. “I needed an office space and I found a spot which had a commercial lease but I had nothing to sell. So, I put this Indian fabric cushion in the window to hide the fact I didn’t have any merchandise.”
One day, a journalist from French Elle magazine came knocking on the door. “She loved the cushion in the window and wanted to know more. She wrote an article, and orders started to come in for cushions and scarves.”
The Jamini store was born.
“I was signing paperwork in the maternity ward right after giving birth to my first child. The next week, I was in meetings, milk leaking through my t-shirt… I couldn’t tell my clients I was taking a six-month mat leave now! I had no choice but to carry on!”
She powered on in a world where consumers became more conscious. “People wanted to buy”greener”, but not all those products were authentic. People liked my product and my story.”
When her first child reached the age of two and a half, her partner's infidelity presented a significant challenge, but she managed to overcome it. “It’s when he did it again, when our second child was two, that I knew I couldn’t do it again.”
Despite the heartache of going through a separation and having to bring up two children in a shared custody set-up, Jamini thrived. “I was battling with guilt the whole time. Being torn between being a good mother, wife, daughter. But it taught me that you can’t be on all fronts all the time,” she says, her eyes shimmering behind her sunglasses as she looks across the canal. “I had to accept I couldn’t have everything. I will never have a good family life like a lot of my friends. I will never live with my parents close to me…”
As Usha tells me her story, she never once complains or expresses an ounce of self-pity. “You know, living in India forges the spirit. On most days we had to take the train for four hours between home and my parents’ workplaces. We were used to working hard for our education, we took nothing for granted.” We sit in silence, contemplating this last comment.
Last year, Jamini grew by 80% and by at least 60% this year so far. “Friends and my partner injected a bit of money for us to be able to grow, but I would have got a loan if they hadn’t helped. It would have been harder of course, a lot more pressure. I’m grateful to them because it’s allowed me to work to a comfortable pace.”
She sits back, takes off her sunglasses and lays them on the table, her dark eyes looking into mine. “When you are young, you’re living such a rat race. You want to do things all the time. It’s what’s everyone is doing of course. You’re always focused on what’s next. But I’m at a stage, and maybe it’s age, where I just want to accept certain things,” she smiles. “So right now, I am not being ambitious. I’ve made a conscious decision not to be. To enjoy what I have. I love everything. My children, my partner, my work, everything. We don’t stop to enjoy it all enough.”
We finish our drinks and the sun filters through underneath the café’s awning, heating up the ice cubes in the spare glass on our table. And what’s her home like? Is it packed to the brim with colours and fabrics? “Actually, I don’t have a lot of stuff. I spend all my money on experiences like when I went to New York and took my friends all over town. I didn’t want to shop. I also love music and used to be in a rock band, which I’ll be resurrecting, so I spend my money on tickets for gigs at the New Morning near here, for instance. And food, but good produce I like to bring home or take to friends’ rather than eat out. It’s just what I love best.”
As we part ways, I see her stride away as though gliding along the pavement, really soaking it all in - every ray of sunshine, every person’s smile, every brick of Paris’ limestone buildings - just as she said she would.
You can follow Usha’s news @Jaminidesign and keep your eyes peeled for the special trips she curates for small groups of people on her travels to India, which she posts about on Instagram.
You’ve reached the end of this newsletter - a heartfelt thank you for taking the time to read me all the way here. Hope to see you next month!
