Guy Savoy, the renowned French chef, is old-fashioned in the very best sense of the word. He was born in Nevers in 1953, which makes him rather old for a chef, a profession in which youth tends to dominate. He has opened restaurants in Singapore (now closed) and Las Vegas (still thriving) and three years ago he moved his eponymous Paris establishment into a fine location for any FT reader. It is part of the Monnaie, France’s principal mint, on the Quai de Conti overlooking the Seine.

The location is in keeping with Savoy’s style of luxurious cooking. There are a couple of doormen by the entrance, one to guide customers up the red carpet to the restaurant. It is 8.15 on a Friday night and Savoy looks immaculate. Grey hair, grey beard, grey trousers and a white chef’s jacket without, unusually, his name embroidered on it. He smiles at us as we pass by.

The couple we are meeting are old friends, originally from Korea, but now living in Hong Kong. When we last ate together, in the dim sum restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong, I described them as “the table from hell” as they can be tricky to please. At Guy Savoy, neither the wine, nor the food, nor the service gives them any grounds for complaint.