Jean-Georges Serves Up a Taste of Paris Before the Olympics

World-renowned French chef and restaurateur Jean-Georges Vongerichten is stopping by the TODAY kitchen to make two classic Parisienne recipes ahead of the 2024 Olympics. He shows us how to prepare perfectly roasted chicken with potatoes and a rich, creamy chocolate mousse, both recipes he’s been making for years.

“These two recipes highlight the same message: Less is more when you have high-quality ingredients,” says Vongerichten. “This is something I learned from a young age in Alsace and is a mindset that I’ve carried with me throughout my personal and professional life.”

Chicken is one of the most popular proteins in France, as seen in many favored dishes like poulet frites, poulet et dauphine, coq au vin or le poulet (chicken in a baguette). There are many street vendors in Paris selling some of the best roast chicken I’ve ever had. In restaurants, roast chicken is often served with french fries. When I was growing up in Alsace, chicken and potatoes were main staples of my diet, and my mother would make this recipe at least twice a month. It has been carried throughout the Vongerichten legacy; it’s nostalgic and comforting for us all.

My mother taught me a lot at a young age as we were cooking for many people who worked for our family business. One of the first dishes she taught me was this recipe. A clear distinction between this and many other roast chicken recipes out there is the importance of cooking the chicken on the bone, which adds so much flavor. The juices seep into the potatoes while cooking and that’s what make the potatoes taste even better than the chicken. This recipe is the epitome of “less is more.” You don’t need dozens of flavorings, herbs or spices — just high-quality ingredients.

Chocolate mousse is a quintessential French dessert. How many restaurants have you been to in France that don’t have a chocolate mousse on the menu? Very few, I would bet! When I started my apprenticeship at Auberge de l’Ill, my first stop in the kitchen was pastry, where I was shown the importance and science behind the composition of a dish.

Throughout the years, I learned how to perfect chocolate mousse, whipping the ingredients just enough to achieve perfect peaks and optimal fluffiness. The trick is understanding when to stop whipping. You don’t want to over-whip the cream; it should be a soft peak, not too fluffy.

The quality of chocolate and cream is as important as the technique. Additionally, the beauty of this recipe is not only the simplicity — only two ingredients — but also the effectiveness of it to make a reliable recipe and delicious result. You can add more to this, topping it with fresh seasonal fruit, whatever your heart desires. I have been making this recipe for over 25 years and have garnished it differently each time — whether with fresh fruit or puff pastry chopsticks — the options are endless.

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