Arnaud Philippe joined Disneyland Paris in 1992 for the grand opening of the Manhattan Restaurant. Almost 30 years later, returning to the hotel where he worked as a Cook, he is now the Chef of the Downtown Restaurant, offering our Guests a cosmopolitan menu.
WHAT WAS THE APPROACH TO CREATING THE DOWNTOWN RESTAURANT MENU?
The first step was to think about New York’s culinary influences. New York is a vibrant city with a long history of immigration, resulting in a cosmopolitan cuisine with strong Asian and Mediterranean influences. We wanted to offer a menu that would be representative of this diverse culture.
WHAT WERE THE CHALLENGES IN CREATING SUCH A VARIED MENU?
Creating a menu requires a studying and testing phase. We had to adapt to health and safety measures, prolonging our timing, and we also had to adapt to material constraints. When we prepare a menu, we have to imagine what ingredients and equipment we will need. During this period, many of our suppliers were also closed, which didn’t make it easy to get what we needed! The other challenge was to imagine a buffet menu and then adapt it to table service. This was not an easy task and we had to temporarily reduce the number of items proposed on the menu.
HOW DID YOU ADD THE MARVEL TOUCH TO YOUR DISHES?
It was mainly through the desserts that we were able to mark our creativity, all the while remaining consistent with the menu and the Asian, Mediterranean and American influences. We have a Baby Groot Chocolate Mousse, a Captain America Panna Cotta, and soon, Thor’s Hammer Chocolate Cake. These are Marvel touches that dazzle our Guests.