A restaurant without an address, a chauffeur taking you “somewhere in Shanghai”, an intimate dinner for ten and a dining experience that is so much more than the food on your plate. 

The full-sensory experience is just as much about the music, lights, scents that surround you. Welcome to “Ultraviolet“, the most avant-garde restaurant, and the No. 41 on the World’s 50 Best list 2017.

From the early beginnings of his career at Café Mosaic in Paris, Pairet has been known for his uniquely global and highly individualistic style.

In Shanghai, he currently owns three restaurants, all marked by their own, distinctive concepts and dining experiences. While Mr and Mrs Bund is a modern French bistro offering popular classics with global influences; the Chop Chop Club is a casual and global interpretation of honest home cooking with focus on large format meats.

And then there is Ultraviolet. A restaurant with a multi-sensory experience that takes its ten patrons on an immersive journey through 20 courses. Each course is stamped Paul Pairet’s culinary expressions: surprise, precision, wit and reduction. He captivates his guests within a multimedia world that engages all five senses. From sound landscapes to video screens to olfactory teases, nothing is left to coincidences. Pairet describes this as moving away from “the random factor of ambience “. The dining experience he creates is fully immersive - a whole new world of culinary surprises and multi-sensory technology.

Throughout his pursuit of excellence and avant-gardism, chef Pairet doesn’t forget about playfulness, fun and most importantly taste. All of these components can be found in dishes such as “Tomato Mozza and Again”. A duo of dishes that look identical, but each presenting two completely different flavour profiles, playing with notions and assumptions of taste. Patrons at Ultraviolet can expect one of three rotating menus at the hidden location. The original UVA has been expanded by UVB and UVC, all of them bringing unique and extraordinary culinary encounters.

What inspired chef Pairet’s creativity and sense for innovation, to create a place that is Ultraviolet? He describes the essence of Ultraviolet’s philosophy as “highly personal and completely original cuisine: often exaggerated, highly technical plays on texture, temperature, and preconceived expectations”. A chef who approaches every ingredient, every dish with fresh eyes, and creates unique opportunities for his diners to see, hear, smell and taste food for the very first time, from a completely new perspective. Somewhere in an unknown place in Shanghai, seemingly far away from the outside, the real world. 

At the upcoming #50Best Talks presented by Miele in San Sebastian, Paul Pairet will speak about Ultraviolet and the creative process behind the world’s most avant garde dining establishment that has been on the World’s 50Best Restaurants list since 2015.

Author: Franziska Winterling
Photos: © Scott Wright of Limelight Studio