Imagine a restaurant so huge that it spans six floors and needs 35 chefs to hold the fort. Welcome to the famous Tour d'Argent, Paris' oldest restaurant which has just been re-opened to grand fanfare after 3 months of re-furbishment and upgrade.

The new owner André Terrail, 27, set about re-establishing the reputation of this gastronomic legend, as it had fallen in Parisian estimation in recent years. Frequent changes of the "master" chef in meant that the Tour d'Argent suffered inconsistency in its management approach, and losing two Michelin stars was the icing on the cake for André- son of Claude Terrail, who successfully ran the restaurant for 60 years.

Iconic Venue
Claude, who passed away last year, aged 88, made the Tour into an iconic venue that was at the top of every Hollywood celebrity's "must-do" list. Indeed, in the past this Gallic treasure attracted a rich and famous clientele, from Marilyn Monroe to the royal family of England.

Terrail spear-headed the campaign to bring the Tour into the 21st century by installing cameras and flat screen computers on each floor. This hi-tech approach allows the chefs and management alike to keep up to date on what is going on in the numerous kitchens and dining rooms spread over the tower's 6 floors.

Multicultural Menu
In addition to carrying out major re-furbishments, management at the Tour felt it was essential to update the menu and Stéphane Haissant, 34, is the new chef that wants to bring new flavours into the kitchen. By injecting influences from India, Spain and Japan into the team's cooking style, Haissant will be testing the boundaries of traditional French cooking, which is what the Tour has been renowned for.

Despite this, André Terrail was still solid on his promise to keep the restaurant's signature dishes, which include quenelles de brochet (fish balls made from pike), sole cardinale and canard au sang, or bloody duck. Terrail said, "We must remain faithful to our clientele, which wants to find those things for which we are famous. But we must also move on."

Hidden Wine Cellar
In the depths of the building which overlooks the spectacular Notre Dame cathedral, there is also a famous wine cellar which, legend has it, hold bottles of cognac from the 1700s. Also, some of its stock still remains from the second world war, where it was hidden from the Germans who occupied much of France.