Kevin Rigault and the art of taste at Bar Les Ambassadeurs in the Hôtel de Crillon
Les Ambassadeurs is one of the rare palace bars embraced by the cocktail community. Director Kevin Rigault shares the inspiration behind his new seasonally-driven menu, reflects on his career journey, and offers a nuanced take on the Parisian cocktail scene.
A menu focused on seasonality to highlight an ingredient
"A Sense of Place" is the motto of the Rosewood group, meaning to provide a local experience for our guests.
At the bar level, we wanted to focus on the theme of seasons starting from a single element, which is to showcase the best ingredients when they are at their peak of seasonality, hence the formula: “A Sense of Taste”.
The creative process is as follows: we first select the ingredient, the main thread. We check its availability throughout the season, ensuring there is no micro-seasonality that would complicate things. Once the list is complete, the bartenders on the team choose which elements they want to work with, then the type of cocktail. Finally, we determine which spirit seems to pair best with the whole and we create the first paper recipes.
Once this step is validated, we launch the first trials for feedback. Of course, some recipes struggled to find a favorable outcome, like the Lemon Thyme for example. And, against all odds, these ended up being – in my opinion – among the most successful in the new menu.
We have not yet worked through all the seasons, but it seems to me that summer will be the easiest period – thanks to the abundance of available fruits – even though my preference leans towards autumn, with figs, mushrooms, nuts, which means slightly more complex, even oxidative notes.
However, the season does not particularly influence the types of cocktails on the menu. Our team strives to offer the same number of cocktails of the same style in each menu: long, short, with bases like Manhattan, Old Fashioned… The same goes for the alcohol content: we do not favor low ABV in summer compared to winter. We only offer one drink in this category - namely the Tomato this season - accompanied by four mirror non-alcoholic cocktails.
The bar has its own suppliers, operating independently from the hotel’s restaurant. As for ice, we use the services of The Nice Company (Note: the bar Les Ambassadeurs was the first client of the company).
A thematic menu to provide a palace experience
For a palace bar, it seems important to offer a thematic menu. Indeed, we are not an everyday bar, therefore, we must provide an experience for our guests, and the menu plays a role in this perspective.
The medium itself matters, and our menu has undergone a design process utilizing artificial intelligence to create an abstract image representing the flavors of each cocktail.
However, in absolute terms, I am not sure it is essential to have a themed menu in a non-palace bar. Some establishments do very well with menus based on sheets with a selection that changes daily; I particularly think of my favorite bar: Satan’s Whiskers in London.
On the other hand, having a guiding thread, a line of direction seems essential to me, especially in terms of branding and coherence.
Of all the bar sales, half correspond to cocktails, with a majority being creations. However, within the team, we have a good culture of classics; it’s a bit of our signature. Even in our creations, our menu often refers to classics. Indeed, when we offer recipes that are a bit less mainstream, it allows customers to have a point of reference to be tempted rather than listing ingredients that might scare them away.
In this regard, it is amusing to compare the differences in orders between American clientele – often leaning towards spirit-forward drinks (i.e., Manhattan, Martini) – and Parisians, who are more inclined towards bitterness (Spritz varieties or Negroni).
A Parisian scene of palace bars that can be improved
I think we are all a bit behind compared to what is happening abroad. I do not know the reality in each establishment - and this is just my humble opinion - but it seems to me that the Parisian palace scene has not yet understood the importance of a complete Bar Program.
Perhaps it is less cultural: customers go less to hotels to have drinks, and therefore, it is not worth investing in the Bar Programs of the establishments.
For a change to occur, perhaps we need people coming from abroad, to draw inspiration from what is done elsewhere and to give more power to the bar, much like what is done with the kitchen.
Moreover, the Parisian scene remains very expensive and not very accessible. It is true that it would be difficult to communicate about being the cheapest palace: consumers might think this comes at the expense of the quality of the offering.
At the Crillon, I am fortunate to have a General Manager who completely trusts us. For example, I have the choice of my spirits, which gives us more flexibility to create.
In comparison, it is very cultural in London to go out in a hotel, and it remains accessible. Certainly, prices tend to rise with inflation, but the same goes for street bars.
Aside from this cultural explanation, there is also more power given to the Beverage Program overall in London hotels, as they have understood how it works to have bars that can stand out.
There is a strong concentration of hotels in the city, and to diversify, it is important to have Beverage Programs as solid as the Food Program. One does not encroach on the other, allowing us to shine in both sectors.
When you think about it, the Savoy in the 2010s, with Erik Lorincz, was something! I still find sources of inspiration in hotel bars during my travels there.
Journey and role of bar director
My discovery of the cocktail bar scene – ten years ago – was purely by chance. Having to work a bit after high school, I started in the restaurant industry, but the bar was the only universe that excited me a bit at the time.
I went abroad for training and started my career in pubs. Always wanting to do better, my experiences eventually led me to Andy Walhoo, where I learned a lot of what I know today.
Later, I lived in London for two years, where I had the chance to open Swift and also worked for Tom Aske and Tristan Stephenson at Black Rock – a whisky bar – as well as at the London Edition, a hotel bar.
My return to Paris first took place at Forum, before participating in the opening of Soho House. This last experience, due to the scale of the task, taught me a lot about precise operational management.
Today, my role as director of the bar Les Ambassadeurs involves overseeing the operation as a whole, including the administrative part, while a head bartender takes care of the bar from a more creative angle.
Our head bartender, Arnaud Volte, arrived at the end of August-beginning of September and has therefore been much more involved in this spring menu than in the previous one – for which I was more directly involved.
I have been at the Crillon for a year and a half, and if there were any gaps, the team has been complete for over a year now. This is satisfying. The good working conditions here are an asset in this regard. What motivates and drives me in my role as a manager is to help people, the team members, grow.
Les Ambassadeurs, Hôtel de Crillon
10, Place de la Concorde; 75008 Paris
Open every day from 5 PM to 1 AM.