Imagination, Experience Neatly Add Up to one

For the last three years, Serge Burckel, a capable French-born chef who grew up in Alsace and trained in France, has been making an impression at Splash in Redondo Beach. Now after more than 20 years behind the stoves, he’s just opened his own place called one, taking over the La Brea Avenue space last occupied by chef Robert Gadsby.

Burckel has opened up the room, splashed bright colors on the walls and hung some eye-popping art. He even improvised a “wall” between the kitchen and the dining room out of flat woven Chinese hats spangled with gold and silver. He’s also added a glassed-in chef’s table where he’ll create a special menu each night for the entire table.

Burckel’s technical skills, imagination and hands-on experience in Hong Kong make him one of the few local chefs who can actually pull off fusion cuisine. He’s dubbed his version Euro-Asian, and nothing is what it sounds like from the menu description.

On a recent evening, we started with diced super-fresh sushi-quality tuna set on a cake of pearly sushi rice garnished with Japanese pickles and a thatch of seaweed. Duck firecrackers mimic the shape of New Year firecrackers; they’re like big spring rolls stuffed with duck. Then come dim sum of transparent dumplings served in a bamboo steamer basket with an apple juice and black pepper “gastric” on the side. (I leave that to you to discover what a “gastric” is.) Every dish doesn’t succeed, but at least he’s daring.

Under the category rice noodle, I find mussels wrapped in rice noodle in a light curry turmeric apple broth. You can begin to see what I mean about Burckel’s imagination. His spiced roasted Chinese duck is burnished to the color of mahogany, delicious with a date puree and apple-quince saffron compote. The dish of the night is the chicken en cocotte, served in a casserole fragrant with garlic and sliced porcini mushrooms. Sublime. But, the shredded turkey confit in a potato pancake made up of thin coins of potato is less satisfying: The potatoes aren’t crispy enough and turkey just doesn’t have the flavor or fat to make a decent confit.

For dessert, he brings a chocolate cigar the size of a Monte Cristo. Set on an ashtray, it’s really very amusing, especially when the waiter sets it alight, and then puts it out in creme anglaise. To note: Some of the servers can be a little exasperating with their intrusive preaching about the food.

Here’s a chef who’s dying to cook and show what he can do. I’m looking forward to taking a seat at the chef’s table one night soon.

BE THERE

one, 672 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles; (323) 692-0540. Open for dinner Monday through Saturday; lunch starts in a few weeks. Dinner appetizers $6.50 to $11; main courses $18 to $29; five-course tasting menu $55; four-course vegetarian menu $32. Valet parking.