Okay, it’s official… One would be a fool to spend
Thanksgiving in Paris anywhere other than Ralph’s Restaurant at Ralph Lauren in St. Germain. There is simply no better ambience. If you don’t believe me, I
will fight you. Just kidding, I won’t fight you but I will definitely question your
morals, your American morals. Ralph Lauren makes me proud to be an American.
Last night, I was beaming with pride and saying to myself as I looked around,
“This is how it is DONE!”
Let’s back up, let’s back up a bit… How did I even get to
Ralph’s Restaurant? I think my answer would have to be primarily “by the grace
of God” and secondly, “by the grace of friends.” I want to thank all of you who
made the effort to get your little Ellie to Ralph’s Restaurant for
Thanksgiving. Thank you to everyone who made phone calls, sent emails and used
all of your connections. A big Merci! I do however, have a very special person
to thank… My friend Rex.
My friend Rex made a little phone call… To his goddaughter,
Lauren. Lauren happens to be Lauren Bush, niece of former President George W
Bush and granddaughter of former President George H.W. Bush. Lauren also
happens to be Lauren Bush Lauren, daughter-in-law of Ralph Lauren. Are you
dying yet?
Let’s back up, let’s back up a bit… The year 1990. My first
official job is at Ralph Lauren in Beverly Hills. I am 20 years old. I am the
official Ralph Lauren… Gift wrapper. That was my job, I wrapped all the gifts.
I loved it. Next, I was promoted to cashier. Very important job. Next, I was
promoted to salesperson and next, I was being considered for assistant buyer.
Ralph Lauren was my life. Here is something maybe you don’t know… When you work
at Ralph Lauren you become part of an inner world, an inner society… And it
never leaves you. Once a Ralph Lauren girl, always a Ralph Lauren girl.
Honestly, you can tell if someone works at Ralph Lauren. There’s just something
about them. I was lucky enough to be one of those people. I loved my job. Every
morning, I woke up in my cute Beverly Hills apartment, put on my cute Ralph
Lauren outfit, and walked the two blocks to Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills,
grabbed a coffee from Il Fornaio, and then walked a half a block more to the
back entrance of Ralph Lauren. I always arrived early. There is something so
peaceful about being in Ralph Lauren before the customers. I would walk up the
winding staircase glancing at all of the paintings, upstairs to the home
department, sit on a couch, sip my coffee and just look and look and look. I
was letting it all soak in. In my eyes, it was heaven on earth.
So here we are, Thanksgiving in Paris 2014. My friend Rex
makes a call to Lauren… And moments later I receive an email from Lauren Bush
Lauren inviting me on behalf of her husband, David Lauren (Ralph Lauren’s son)
and herself, to Thanksgiving dinner at Ralph Lauren. I literally had a little
Ralph Lauren heart attack. Not only have I always admired anything Ralph Lauren
related but I have also always admired Lauren. Why? Because she is the founder
of the ubiquitous FEED bags!
In case you live under a rock and are unfamiliar with FEED, here
is a brief description from her website… “As a World Food
Programme (WFP) Honorary Student Spokesperson, Lauren visited countries around
the world in Asia, Latin America, and Africa where WFP is operating, and was
inspired by the plight of the people she met on her travels. She took a special
interest in WFP's School Feeding program, which feeds and educates hungry
children. After witnessing the effects of hunger firsthand, Lauren Bush Lauren
founded FEED in 2007 with the mission of "Creating Good Products That Help
FEED the World. She first
created the FEED 1 Bag, a reversible burlap and organic cotton bag reminiscent
of the bags of food distributed by WFP, to help raise funds and awareness
around these school feeding operations. It was stamped with "FEED the
children of the world" and the number '1' to signify that each bag
provides enough meals to feed one child in school for one year.”
One bag purchase feeds one child for one year! FEED has provided
85 million meals. And that, my friends, is Lauren Bush Lauren. If you are
feeling charitable, which hopefully you are, this is the most worthy organization
to support. Click here to donate to FEED. Click here to volunteer with FEED.
Click here to shop FEED.
So, with my heart all aflutter… I gleefully accept the Lauren’s
generous invitation to Thanksgiving dinner at Ralph Lauren.
Now I have to get ready! What should I wear, I think? I
know… I will wear my Malo camel cashmere dress, black stockings, my Roger
Vivier flats, my Yves Saint Laurent gold cuff bracelet, and my teeny tiny
diamond pinky ring, and my beautiful scarf that David bought me last year in
Paris. Here’s the funny part… Because I am paralyzed, I cannot get myself
dressed. I have to rely on my husband and my caregivers to do this. Have you
ever had to have someone put your stockings on for you? It’s not cute. It’s
actually humiliating. I usually just pretend I am in the Bahamas while they are
doing it. After about 45 minutes, my clothes are on and now someone has to do
my makeup. Jesus. My two choices yesterday were either to have my husband do my
makeup or my caregiver do my makeup. Not to be rude or ungrateful, but an
orangutan could have done a better job. But finally, in the end, Humpty Dumpty
is put together and ready to go to Ralph’s!
The thrill of driving to Ralph Lauren in Paris past a
twinkling Eiffel Tower is not lost on me. I am beaming ear to ear. We arrive to
the restaurant and as our reservation is for four people, we invited our
closest Parisian friends, Christophe and Ann-Lise. Christophe is chic and
demure and Ann-Lise is the epitome of Parisian cool and always, always makes me
laugh. We adore them. We await our 6:30 PM reservation in the courtyard of
Ralph Lauren. Even though it is Thanksgiving, Ralph Lauren is decorated for
Christmas which somehow felt perfect. It was a very traditional American Ralph
Lauren theme. Swags of garland with antiqued gold balls, antler horns, pheasant
feathers. Big baskets filled with pine branches. French planters filled
with fresh Christmas holly with red berries. Huge wreaths. The tables were set
with hurricane lamps, the chairs were complete with plaid pillows and leopard
pillows. And this was just the outside courtyard! Look look look…
The best part about the courtyard was that it was brimming
with… Americans. Yes, chic, perfectly dressed Americans. I have never been so
happy to hear an American accent in Paris as I was last night. Not to be rude,
but I did not want to hear any French. This was Thanksgiving. This was American
Thanksgiving. This was American Thanksgiving at Ralph Lauren. You could sense
that everyone was so happy to be there.
6:30 PM… The doors open and we are invited inside. Honestly,
I felt like Charlie Bucket in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory… Eyes wide open
with awe. I have dined at Ralph’s many times before but Thanksgiving is
special. We were greeted by a trio of jubilant Ralph Lauren hosts. “Bonsoir, Monsieur
Decret! Bonsoir Madame Decret! Happy Thanksgiving. We are so happy to have you
with us this evening.” We were led to our table… The best table in the house…
Right in front of the soaring fireplace. Everything was perfect. Everything was
so Ralph Lauren and so Thanksgiving-y. I will let the pictures speak…
Just as we were settling in, a waiter arrived with a silver
standing bucket with a bottle of champagne and said, “Champagne with the
compliments of David Lauren.” I had another little Ralph heart attack. Merci
beaucoup David Lauren. The menu then arrived…
So, as you know… I am kind of a foodie. My family operates
around food. Not to sound like a food snob… But I know good food. I might even
be an expert if I do say so myself. Let me tell you, the Thanksgiving dinner at
Ralph’s restaurant was superb. The butternut squash soup tasted beautifully
woodsy. The turkey, the stuffing, the mashed potatoes, the sweet potatoes, the
root vegetables with maple syrup, the Brussels sprouts, the wild rice and the
cranberry sauce… All pure perfection. And, here comes my grandest compliment…
The gravy was the best I’ve ever had but don’t tell my mother. It was a tad bit
perfectly sweet and a tad bit perfectly savory and served in a petite silver server. You are going
to laugh but I actually had a dream about the gravy. The desserts were
perfectly American because you know I hate French desserts… so the pumpkin pie,
the pecan pie and the apple pie were a sight for sore eyes!
Now, I am not one to gawk because I have something called manners
but I could barely focus on our dinner conversation because all I wanted to do
was look at every little detail. The paintings, the Christmas decorations, the
flowers, the greenery, the table settings, the candles, the other guests, the
chic staff, the bar, the plaid pillows, the leather chairs with nail heads, the
lighting, the chandeliers, the stone floors, and just the entire building in
and of itself!
My Thanksgiving dinner in Paris could not have been better.
Could not have been better! It almost made me want to move back to America! I
kept thinking the entire night, “I wish I still worked here.” The magical world
of Ralph Lauren never ceases to amaze me. Thank you Rex. Thank you Lauren Bush
Lauren. Thank you David Lauren. Thank you to my David and to our friends, Christophe and Ann-Lise. And thank
you to all of you who wanted this special evening for me as much as I did. I am
a very lucky girl.
