THE WORLD'S BIGGEST MUSEUM
This is Mr. And Mrs. Smith's 25th stay. They have the royal suite.
Then they'll eat chicken, pink veal chop, suckling pig...
We'll bring the bath towels later. We'll get them from the office.
Because there are two missing.
I think that now, the best luxury hotels are in Paris.
You imagine red with mushrooms but white is interesting.
Hello, sir. Thanks for greeting me.
This splendid English limousine has just dropped me off at Georges V,
a luxury hotel built in 1928 by the owner of the Tour d'Argent.
In the middle of the roaring twenties, they entertained
the English aristocracy and provided them with apartments
that resembled their castles on the other side of the Channel.
It's a very privileged place.
It's probably Paris's biggest luxury hotel
and people say that it has the best service in the world.
We'll check that out in a few seconds.
All the Anglo-Saxons and Hollywood stars have stayed here.
The Beatles and The Rolling Stones from England
and all the great actors like John Wayne loved this place.
Time for our visit. Let's go.
Hello. Are you Roderick? - Yes.
I'm Eric Brunet. - Nice to meet you.
Thanks for greeting us. - You're welcome.
HEAD CONCIERGE
How many suites and rooms are there?
There are 245 units. This includes 60 suites and the rest are rooms.
What's the price range? - Starting from 800 euros per night
and going up to 13,000 euros, if you wish.
That's for the famous royal suite. - That's right.
Do you ever get bizarre requests? - Paris and France is so fascinating
that I think it's easy for us to surprise people.
The requests are not that bizarre and there's always a way to surprise people.
There's a whole sociology. There are traditional families,
you could have rock stars, as The Rolling Stones always come here.
By definition, they must have very different requests and aspirations.
The Rolling Stones are very down-to-earth and low profile.
They stray from the hotel and nobody disturbs them.
They're extraordinary people.
What's the main principle of being a concierge?
The hotel has certain services to meet the guests' wishes.
The concierge is the link with the city and the country.
I'm a beginner when it comes to luxury hotels in Paris.
What would you say about this hotel?
How does it stand out from the others?
There are many things. If you take a look at the building,
which, fascinatingly, was built to be a hotel,
unlike others, which were turned into hotels.
This is just a facade looking out onto the interior gardens.
The people here are naturally very kind,
very smiley, welcoming and open.
That's the feedback we get from guests.
I'm not sure if it's true, but I heard
that this hotel has the best service in the world.
If you are best in the world, you can fall flat on your face.
You need to stay modest and always tell yourself...
Every morning, me and my colleagues get up
to make people happy and anticipate their requests
and ensure their day goes well.
When you have France and Paris to surprise people,
there's nothing easier.
Thanks a lot. - My pleasure, Eric.
Welcome and enjoy your stay.
It's a surprise, so be discreet about the dinner.
The lady doesn't know that she's staying at the hotel tonight
with her future husband.
Let me introduce Christophe Norton. - Hello, sir.
He's the boss, the manager of this hotel.
If you agree, now we're going to talk about the history.
This great hotel was opened in the late 1920s, is that correct?
That's right. In 1928.
Above all, with the idea of creating great views of the Eiffel Tower
and around 50 terraces.
HOTEL MANAGER
Really with the idea of welcoming people from all over
to show them what France is capable of.
With this very impressive and majestic architecture, typical of the 1930's.
It still has one of the most beautiful Art Deco facades in Paris.
It's just been renovated, it's splendid and very natural.
It's still a very impressive hotel today
on the corner of Avenue Georges V and Avenue Pierre de Serbie.
There's a world of difference between the reality of these establishments
and the tense social situations throughout the whole world.
A criteria of ours is to create a little bubble.
There's a side to us that makes you feel secure.
We look after you, there are no worries, we'll do everything we can.
Out of almost 700 members of staff, 43 of us have a trade.
These are craftsmen who demonstrate what we can do in France.
The definition of luxury is something that might be necessary
to have a more comfortable and better lifestyle.
Throughout history, some famous names have stayed here.
Is it true that Eisenhower spent 18 months here?
It's true. In 1944, Eisenhower chose the hotel as his general quarters,
immediately followed by the Hollywood stars.
All the big American movie stars came here in the 1940s and 1950s.
The Rolling Stones are still coming here after 30 years.
It's like the whole world comes here,
whether they be from the music scene, or the world of cinema or theater.
Jean Gabin used to come here. - It's a very long list.
Thanks a lot. - Thanks, bye.
So, everything's fine in here.
PRESIDENTIAL SUITE
Has the bathrobe arrived? - Yes, it's here.
Age 5 is perfect for Stacey.
Very good. A bathrobe for adults.
We need to call technical support because the marble is damaged here.
We'll get the marble worker in. - Good, then it will be sorted.
Let's check for hairs. - I've already checked.
We're on the first floor of the hotel.
I suggest that we now go visit the rather substantial suite 115.
It's good timing as there's a changeover. Follow me.
Check if the amenities in the lounge are OK...
LEADING PRODUCTS
… for you and the guest.
Hello. I'm Céline. Pleased to meet you. - Hello, Céline.
Hello. I'm Monica. - Hello, Monica.
What do you do, Céline? - I'm a housekeeper.
And Monica? - Hotel ambassador.
You're the in-house ambassador.
How do you check the room?
Do you stand in front of something and progress like this?
You start to check a room from a specific point.
HOUSEKEEPER
You can start at the door or the bathroom, it doesn't matter.
INSPECTION
You check from top to bottom, all the way around the suite.
For example, what do you do here?
If I'm in front of this TV cabinet,
I'll check if it's correctly aligned. Can you see the art objects on top?
How should they be aligned? - In relation to the cabinet.
Here, you have the door's joint. The art object must be centered to it.
Here you can see that it's not centered.
Go on, center it. We can't continue this interview if it's not centered!
Once it has been centered,
the two neighboring objects must be equidistant.
Then you open the TV cabinet
and check that there is no dust inside and the equipment is working.
I'll find some dust.
No! A very clean hotel. - We try.
Monica, are the guests demanding? - Yes.
HOTEL AMBASSADOR
Sometimes they are even looking to say:
"Can I find something wrong with this hotel?"
I think it's hard to find anything.
We have people like Céline checking everything all day.
We also try to anticipate all their requests.
For example, if we know that a guest loves white flowers,
we'll prepare beautiful white orchids.
And the amenities for the parents. I know they like fruit.
Oh boy, that's really good. May I? - No! Don't touch it!
The grapes are delicious. - Yes, they're good.
PRESIDENTIAL SUITE
I've noticed that we're in a prestigious suite. What's it called?
It's the presidential suite. - It's fantastic.
The royal suite is bigger. - Yes indeed.
ROYAL SUITE
There's Eric Briffard. It's all go in here.
It's an exceptional moment.
We're next to the dining room and he's the Michelin-starred chef.
Hello, Eric. Are you well? - Very well.
Thanks for welcoming us. I know it's not the best time to answer my questions.
How many covers do you have tonight? - We'll have 50 to 55 in the restaurant.
HEAD CHEF
I also have the gallery with 70 covers.
The floors have 245 rooms, it can go up to 110 covers depending on the night.
We have an average of 1,000 covers per day including breakfast.
Is there a difference between being a Michelin-starred chef
in an international hotel
rather than in a classic French country restaurant?
A big difference. There's the training.
You can be a very good self-taught cook,
and have a heightened sensibility for the product,
but in addition, we must be able to handle a club sandwich
or a New York-style burger like we make here today.
A lobster club sandwich.
That's a luxury hotel. We refuse nothing.
Mother-of-pearl spoons! - Yes chef!
I'm waiting for 8 APs.
What are APs? - Appetizers.
That's fine, four orders for tomato carp.
What are the APs made from? - They have autumnal flavors.
It's a little appetizer to evoke autumn.
We have a few small marinated mushrooms with grapes,
a chestnut blini with a fresh slice of eel
and pumpkin soup topped with sorrel mousse.
That's an appetizer? - Yes, that's right.
Right, the lobsters!
That's lobster cooked in piping hot salt with seaweed.
Right, let's just...
There you go.
The lobster sauce is ready, I'll give you some.
There's the sauce. Let's go.
That's the lobster garnish that's just gone.
Are they tempura vegetables? - You could say that.
I brought the idea back from Japan.
Let's take the garnish through. - Yes chef!
Let's go, table three.
So, we don't just go out somewhere,
when we can ask the chef to kindly prepare a little recipe for us.
And that's what you're about to do. - We're going to use Alba white truffle.
A veal carpaccio recipe used in Italy to showcase white truffle.
Are those breadcrumbs? - Yes, a few crushed breadcrumbs.
That rocket sauce is wonderful. - Yes, it's an intense rocket sauce.
I'm going to add a little pepper.
It has a powerful flavor.
I'm soaking my breadcrumbs in this rocket sauce.
It's really drinking it up. It's very visual.
What kind of carpaccio is that?
It's a cushion of veal that you can slice in advance.
What's that? - It's celery stick.
It's crunchy and goes very well with the veal.
We're also adding a few brunoise carrots.
Likewise, just placed in boiling water for 20 seconds,
so that they stay a little crunchy.
A few yellow brunoise carrots. - It looks pretty.
I get all my vegetables from my Île-de-France gardeners.
This isn't cooking anymore, it's art!
You add the oil with a pastry brush. - With a little lemon juice.
We'll finish off the carpaccio with...
little tender strips of artichoke.
Some raw chestnut. - Ah, is that chestnut?
Yes, tiny shavings of raw chestnut.
Likewise, a few parmesan shavings.
We finish off with a little rocket.
It's from the same salad that we used to make the intense sauce underneath.
It's wonderful.
Shavings of white truffle give it the magic touch.
This is where Jean Gabin made his move on Marlene Dietrich.
Right here! That's what you call history!
More generally speaking, we're in a luxury hotel
that traditionally has an Anglo-Saxon clientele.
This is where General Eisenhower stayed
for 18 months during the Liberation.
I've made a few notes. Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford have stayed here.
Audrey Hepburn, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, of course.
Burt Lancaster, Gene Kelly, Charlie Chaplin.
Sometimes, of course, some French stars, like Sacha Guitry or Yvonne Printemps.
There you go, ladies and gents, that's history!
HOUSEKEEPERS' OFFICE LINEN AND UNIFORMS
I'm looking for my buttons.
TAILOR
Clémence? - Yes?
I've just met the guest from room 132.
She's given us her suit which is a size 12.
She wants to know if it's possible...
LINEN MANAGER
… to take in the sleeves and back and convert it to a size 8.
Can you give me the room number, please? - 132.
OK.
Now, we're going to move on to another process.
This is a raw basil sauce with olive oil.
Now I'll add a few artichokes.
Chantilly potatoes, ladies and gents!
We place an egg yolk in the middle and a few shavings of duck.
Dried duck breast.
Here's my cheese.
It's hot Cancoillotte.
There you go. I just pour over the emulsion like that.
Not forgetting the white truffle, of course.
It's a real end-of-year dish. There you go.
Is the broth ready? - Yes.
Can you prepare some good ravioli?
As we're giving them dishes fit for a king, we add a little gold leaf.
Look how incredible this cooking is!
It's gold leaf like craftsmen use
to restore the roof of Les Invalides.
The great moment has arrived. Time to taste it.
Zoom out and show the viewers the three Eric Bs here.
Eric Briffard, the chef, who you know, but also Eric Beaumard,
the great in-house sommelier and also the restaurant manager.
Hello, Eric. - Hello, Eric.
Hello, Eric. - We're all called Eric!
What do you drink with this?
The wine must complement this delicious food.
I've chosen a good white Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
SOMMELIER AND GOURMET RESTAURANT MANAGER
I'm eating but I'm listening to you.
Oh boy, I've squashed the yolk. I love it.
I haven't been this happy since I was born.
Let's go. How ostentatious! The Cancoillotte has rested a little.
It's exquisite.
We start with the white wine to accompany the soup,
the mushrooms and the yuzu ravioli
and match it with either an aged Chelan
or a 50-year-old white port
to go with the egg yolk and truffle.
CONSUME WITH MODERATION
Right, I'll let you know what I think. I've decided to keep you both on.
Thanks for welcoming me. - Thanks a lot.
Now, Eric Beaumard, time to put on your sommelier hat.
We're 14 meters underground in the hotel cellar.
Are we inside the rock? - They were quarries
used to build all the neighborhood buildings and the Arc de Triomphe.
They were the Butte Chaillot quarries. This cellar also has a story
because it was bricked up during World War II.
It's one of the big buildings in which we managed to foil the enemy
by bricking it up and building a little cellar next to it,
to prove that we didn't need many bottles as there was nobody in the hotel.
So we managed to keep the entire stock.
The Tour d'Argent used that technique. - Fabulous. And the Ritz did, too.
What do you drink in a prestigious place like this?
Wines that have been chosen deliberately by people with a passion.
Behind every bottle there's the story of a wine-grower.
A vintage is being handed over.
It could be a glass of champagne at the bar
or tasting a great wine with one of Chef Briffard's pies.
CONSUME WITH MODERATION
Hello.
Is it this way?
We're in the hotel swimming pool with these fresco paintings
that evoke Versailles and Le Trianon theater.
Some people might be surprised by this luxury and opulence
in these days when there is social tension everywhere.
Don't forget that Paris is the world capital of historic luxury hotels.
For example, 700 people work here every day
and they excel in their field.
There are craftsmen and over a hundred people in the kitchen.
That is French brilliance.
It's French excellence and it must never die out.
Have a good week. If you want to see the show again,
don't forget to visit our website, www.france3.fr.
Bye.
Subtitles: Babel Subtitling - babelSUB.be