conceptual cuisine text by FRANÇOIS SIMON You, too, can beat the crowd in sniffing out the new trends. In fine dining, it’s all about the concept. And for that we go to the theory pertaining to apartment floods: a flood that begins on one floor will soon logically trickle down to the rest of the building. You’ve already heard of the so-called “concept store,” which has propagated itself around the world, laboriously imitating the one‑offs like Colette. Working with no more than a perfumed candle, a Peruvian hat, and shiny white enamel advertising, a whole flock of stores has hatched in certain areas, targeting all their customers with sustained indolence. This conceptual faddism happens in restaurants, too. Usually, if a chef is spinning his wheels, having already run through his entire repertory of possibilities and styles, there is a moment when a “concept” hits him — think the trajectory…