MichelinStarsChallenge R
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One small challenge amongst the others (every Michelin stars in Paris in one year, done, and every 3 Stars in France, done as well… follow me for all the reviews and updates) I did all the new 2 stars in France (I’m publishing them now.. with a maturation delay).
I know that most of the readers will be French and that I should post in my native language but the fact that he got his second star will certainly draw more foreigners to appreciate his cuisine.
This review could have been named “the day after” because the very evening before we were at Gilles Goujon’s 3 stars restaurant. It should have been an impossible task but still the chef managed to captivate us.
So I’ll start the “what’s extraordinary here” by a French expression : “Cuisine d auteur”. It’s usually translated as Signature cuisine, which is not satisfying. Strictly translated it would be “author’s cuisine “, and you get the sense that the chef wants to tell you something, rather than impress his identity on you.
That’s what both fascinating and may be confusing for some. The chef wants to speak about his land, the way he perceives it, the emotions attached to it, and uses contrast and time (aged, fermentation etc..) to better stress it. He’s not showing off, he’s sharing. But I guess it can be quite confusing or even misinterpreted by some who excepts either a classical 2 Stars, or an high end auberge (inn) with a very local cuisine, or even a typical 2 stars « d auteur ». But it’s neither of them.
I have to admit I knew I loved it there, like once you’ve finished a good movie or book, you know you love it, but I also was not sure why. It’s on the way back discussing with my friend about something completely different that I understood. We’re both from really different cultures and lived abroad. It’s nearly impossible to feel your culture when you live in it. You need to experience it through contrast by living abroad (or with somebody else’s eyes). The point is that when you’re deep inside a culture, you have not an exterior view, you’ll speak about the inside view, your experience with it, your feeling about it, even your memories.
The chef is not speaking about the Aubrac region, he’s speaking about what it means for him, what emotions are attached to it. Interestingly he’s into aging and fermenting, the impact of time on the nature he’s exploring, and what it reveals in terms of taste (or how it reveals it).
Of course, you could argue that his vocabulary is from « Aubrac », as he only sources his ingredients locally. But the story is more about his experience and vision of his land, rather than the land itself. One example is the very last dish, where you get to see that a walk in the woods is his dessert. A real treat.
What does it mean for you? You’ll have a very personal cuisine with very local ingredients, more than a classical cuisine d’auteur with a lot of ego. Not extremely modern or avant-gardiste, just the exploration of an artist in the nature you’ll have under your eyes. The atmosphere will be turned to the nature (wood tables, view on the montains etc…). If you let him « speak », and don’t expect for the classical 2 stars, you’ll spend a great time and feel like having taken a big breath of fresh air.
And that’s what we needed back then!
Due to our gargantuesque evening, we limited ourselves in our lunch menu. I’d love to come back and experience the evening with the big menu. That’s my only regret. There’s another 2 stars a bit north that I really love. I’ll plan a trip soon enough to see the evolution.
A refreshing cuisine d’Auteur. Already a solid 2 stars.
