A Bordeaux, restaurants gastros riment avec producteurs locaux
ReportingFrom Philippe Etchebest, the child of the country star of the stoves and trays of “Top Chef”, to Vivien Durand, at the helm of the Black Prince and Gaùta, who plays it local simply “because it’s better”, tour of locavore tables in the Gironde capital.
Beautiful church, small market hall, cheerful terraces… In the Chartrons district, Bordeaux leaves its grand dame trappings behind to take on the appearance of a small village square where it is good to drink a toast. This is where Philippe Etchebest opened his Maison nouvelle establishment in December 2021, in a blond stone building. The cuisine is more demanding (and more expensive) than in his other Bordeaux restaurant, Le Quatrième Mur, but it is the same idea that guides the child of the country: to sublimate the best of this South-West terroir that he knows by heart.
To enter Maison Nouvelle, you have to ring the bell. The door opens on the massive build of the most telegenic chef in France. “I wanted a restaurant that wasn’t a restaurant, where I felt at home,” confides the Bordelais while touring the owner. A wooden staircase leads to small rooms punctuated with countless photos of the star: Etchebest at the AC/DC concert, Etchebest diving under the ice, Etchebest (with hair) starting out in large kitchens… The sought-after atmosphere is that of a family house, but the owner admits with a greedy smile: “I want to recover the two stars I had at the Hostellerie de Plaisance, in Saint-Emilion, and if I can take three, that’s even better! »
The chef can rely on talented regional producers. He never tires of the pigeons of Marie Le Guen, in Montpon-Ménestérol (Dordogne), to whom he has been faithful for almost thirty years. For vegetables, he trusts Christophe Guénon, at the Bagatelle farm in Léognan (Gironde). And it’s Gianni Codoro, from the Mérignas mushroom farm (Gironde), who supplies him with the brown mushrooms for his new version of ravioli with foie gras, his favorite dish. They are served here in a sumptuous setting, covered with a mushroom broth, sprinkled with gold leaf, paired with a shot of drinking mushrooms and a crunchy tuile. “90% of the dish is made up of local mushrooms, says the boss. But I’m not going to have fun claiming a locavore label! I’ve always used regional products, I didn’t wait for fashion. »
Basque trout gravlax and brioche sausage
Bordeaux was slow to gain recognition for the value of its cuisine and its products. “For a long time, here, it was wine, wine, wine… and gastronomy took a back seat”, regrets Philippe Etchebest. But the city now has seven stars, plus a few nuggets in the agglomeration like Le Prince noir, a table created in a castle in Lormont, just separated from Bordeaux by the Garonne, haloed with a macaroon. There, it is Vivien Durand who has been making the pots swing since 2014, guided by an almost exclusive passion for organic and local products. Near the Capucins market, the forties opened a bistro in 2020, Gaùta, throbbing with noise, laughter, life. He defends a cuisine from the South-West as tasty as it is generous with Basque gravlax trout, duck breast cooked on the bone, homemade brioche sausage.
You have 58.98% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.