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Brooklyn Museum Recreates World-Famous Parisian Restaurant Maxim's

Maxim's at The Norm is a salute to avant-garde designer Pierre Cardin and his iconic art-nouveau restaurant in Paris
Maxim’s at the Norm, BK Reader
Photo credit: Chip Klose / The Norm at the Brooklyn Museum

Brooklyn Museum is paying tribute to avant-garde designer Pierre Cardin, who currently is the center of a newly-opened exhibit, by recreating the designer's world-famous restaurant Maxim de Paris as a culinary pop-up experience at The Norm.

Throughout the run of the exhibit Pierre Cardin: Future FashionBrooklyn Museum's 80-seat full-service restaurant will be reimagined as Maxim's at The Norm, complete with a visual and gastronomical transformation. Maxim's de Paris has been owned by Cardin since 1981 and is widely regarded as the world's most famous—and expensive—restaurant; the culinary institution has attracted gourmands from all over the world for the last 126 years.

Maxim's at The Norm salutes avant-garde designer Pierre Cardin and his iconic art-nouveau restaurant in Paris
Salade Lyonnaise
seasonal greens, bacon lardons, croutons, poached egg. Photo credit: Chip Klose / The Norm at the Brooklyn Museum

Executive Chef Saul Bolton and Andy Mejias, The Norm's chef de cuisine, have designed a menu for Maxim's at The Norm as an ode to French cuisine in general and a homage to Maxim's in particular. The menu features French classics such as Gougères, Steak Frites and Marquise de Chocolat, and highlights contemporary versions of dishes inspired by Maxim's de Paris's cookbook, Chez Maxim, including Salade Lyonnaise, Poulet Rôti aux Pêches, roast chicken with grilled peaches, and Chocolate Profiteroles.

Cocktails inspired by the life of Pierre Cardin were created by Loriana Sanabria for Maxim's at The Norm. The revamped cocktail list features the Le Costumier, or The Costume Maker, a spirited creation with champagne, St. Germain, gin, lemon juice, hibiscus lime syrup, which is a reference to Cardin's penchant for designing costumes and masks for the theater. Other cocktails are a nod to one of Cardin men's collection, The Cylindre, and his time as a tailor for Christian Dior, The Tailor's White Sangria. 

To make the transformation complete, The Norm's ceiling has been painted in Maxim's de Paris's signature deep burgundy, while the bar now boasts the gold that has become a distinctive part of Maxim's globally recognized logo. One wall provides glimpses of the art nouveau masterpiece that is the interior of the restaurant, while another has been re-fashioned as Maxim's famed exterior on Paris's Rue Royale.

Pierre Cardin: Future Fashion, which opened on July 20, traces the iconic designer's seven decade-spanning career, his efforts to push the boundaries of the industry and democratize high fashion for the masses. With over 170 objects that date from the 1950s to the present, including haute couture and ready-to-wear garments, accessories, photographs and film, the exhibit shows how the designer's bold aesthetic had an influence that extended beyond fashion to furniture, industrial design and other spheres.

Pierre Cardin: Future Fashion and Maxim's at the Norm will run through January 5, 2020.




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