He could not have wished for a better location for his 40-seat restaurant than the ground floor of the Oriental Riverside Hotel in the Shanghai International Convention Centre, reflecting as it does both Shanghai's position caught between its future and its past and his own culinary style which draws on a rich French tradition of fine dining with a firm eye on innovation.

A shining example of this is his signature dish - goose liver with chocolate sauce - classic cuisine with a firm contemporary twist.

"Historically, chocolate has been used as a spice, it is actually a very bitter flavour and it is only because of our preconceptions that chocolate is sweet that people find the idea of using it in savoury dishes suprising," says Fontana, who previously worked in the Peace Hotel, where his kitchen prepared food for such notables as Bill Clinton and George Bush

"Quite often I have served people dishes using chocolate without telling them what it is. I know they will like it,but if I tell them it has chocolate in it they might shy away.

"What we are trying to achieve is a blend of classic traditional dishes but also introduce some new ideas so we can keep pushing things forward."

Alongside the chocolate foie gras on the set menu sits cuisine for those with more reserved tastes including pea soup, cod with roasted fennel and Provencal bread, and duck breast with risotto, goose liver and wheat bread.

At 585 yuan (US$75) per person it would be hard to describe the set as cheap by Shanghai standards, but consider this a fine-dining experience which could set you back hundreds of dollars elsewhere in the world and suddenly it begins to look remarkably good value.

Added to this, the 'Rapido Lunch,' a set lunch menu consisting of a starter and a main course or a main course and dessert, can be served in less than 20 minutes for just 120 yuan (US$15) and could well become a favourite with Lujiazui's high flyers and pretty much anyone else who cottons on to the bargain lunch on their office doorstep.

Working alongside Fontana at Le Matignon are top chef and Shanghai Chef makes fine food look easy native Ju Yinghui who has been selected to represent China at the 2007 Bocuse d'Or, the world's premier competition for chefs, and award winning pastry chef Chen Changyou.

"What we are trying to create is an apparently effortless environment with knowledgeable staff and top class chefs,"adds Fontana. "We want to be like a top class tennis player who makes playing the game look easy even though what is being done is technically very difficult - we want to make our customers relaxed and we want to serve them excellent food."19:12:33

Matignon
Shanghai International Convention Centre 2727, Riverside Avenue Pudong
Tel: 021-50370000