Vannes/Saint-Avé: the tricks of Vincent David | Gilles Pudlowski’s blog
He is the enchanter of Saint-Avé, took the place, a decade ago, of Bernard Rambaud, instills profusely, likes the rich genre, revisiting local products with distribution. Vincent David, a native of Saint-Brieuc, trained outside his region, in Normandy, at the Château d’Audrieu des Livry-Level, then spent with Dominique Bouchet, of whom he was the faithful lieutenant, five years at the Moulin de Marcouze of Mosnac-sur-Seugne, then two stars, finally, chef of Marc Meneau in Saint-Père-Sous-Vézelay, won the star in Cordon, in Haute-Savoie, at Roches Fleuries, returned to the Breton country, in a house that he once discovered as a client.
He recreates the dishes of always from the dishes given by Mother Nature, by reinventing, for example, a “black pebble” called “burnt pebble”, with potato with squid ink, chives, plus a stuffing of smoked salmon and herring caviar: pretty and clever at the same time. There are also these appetizers galore: tangy tomato, nougatine, sesame poppy, toast with smoked mackerel rillettes, shellfish au gratin, its exquisite Breton scallop stuffing, buckwheat shortbread with Parmesan, onion and sausage and again, as at Meneau in the past, cromesquis with foie gras, port, melanosporum truffle.
In short, it falls to Gravelotte. If you like the sober genre, go your way. Here, we make hearty and we like it. The langoustines are in tartare, seasoned with Kari Gosse, the famous Morbihan spice mix, decorated with mushrooms, shellfish ice cream, lime. There is also the foie gras gyoza, with its dashi, oyster and shizo broth.
The Saint-Pierre, perfectly cooked, that is to say, not too much, is presented Viennese, with shellfish, spelled, parmesan, champagne sauce, lobster decorated with a broth of shellfish, sweet spices, citrus fruits , coriander. We add carnivorous moments, such as the duckling with turnips, with beetroot and juniper “ketchup” or the tender Wagyu beef with whiskey, Arabica and smoked eggplant.
The wines, from a rich and tempting menu, waltz by the glass. We remember the pretty Chenin Blanc du Ronceray at the Château de Plaisance, the fresh Muscadet 2009 from the Château du Coing de Saint Fiacre “Comte de Saint Hubert” signed Günther Chéreau, or the Gamay 2020 copy in Roanne coast “Les Pedriziéres” by Robert Sérol .
And, for dessert, we give in to the freshness of the champagne-green apple granita, with quince-clove, pear and Sichuan pepper, chocolate with mandarin, hazelnut and fleur de sel or Kalamansi lemon with carrot, saffron, bread from Genoa, imperial mandarin, chervil. A meal like a cornucopia!