the Gram’s restaurant revisits the recipes of Aveyron
Le Gram’s, a new restaurant which opens its doors this Tuesday, October 4 in the Saint-Aubin district of Toulouse, modernizes the traditional recipes of Aveyron grandmothers with good seasonal products from the region.
Small farçou with beet coulis, cod brandade, well-simmered Aubrac beef coufidou… Laura Pelou, chef and owner of a first restaurant in Aveyron, revisits grandmother’s recipes in a second establishment: The Gram’sscheduled to open this tuesday october 4 in the heart of the Saint-Aubin district of Toulouse.
Inside the restaurant, the central bar, the old floor, the Toulouse bricks and the solid wood tables create a warm atmosphere. The decoration remains refined, in a large room of more than 75 meters which can accommodate up to 40 covers, and likely to be added to the fifteen seats available on the terrace, rue André Mercadier (instead of the Racine Café). “I wanted each client to have a small space to feel comfortable by not managing on top of each other,” explains Laura Pelou.
Le Gram’s offers a gourmet and elaborate cuisine…
On the menu, Laura Pelou offers four choices of starters, main courses and desserts. “The objective is to make people discover the good products of Aveyron, through a simple and gourmet cuisine”, underlines the chef. This autumn, for example, customers could fall for lamb sweetbreads, a free-range poultry fillet, aligot, an assortment of cheeses or even for fouace, a typical Aveyron cake with flower flavors. ‘Orange tree, reworked with cream and pieces of fruit.
As for prices, the Gram’s wants to be “affordable, even if we have fairly elaborate dishes”, comments Laura Pelou. The restaurant offers a “starter, main course, dessert” formula at 24 euros for lunch. The suggestions will change daily, always respecting the traditional recipes of Aveyron. On the rest of the menu, prices will vary between 8 and 10 euros for starters, 18 and 22 euros for main courses, then between 7 and 8 euros for desserts.
… With local and seasonal products
The 100% Aveyron cuisine is also reflected in the choice of products. The owner of the Gram’s works only with suppliers in the region. She selects the meat from the Bousquet charcuterie in Luc-le-Primaube, collects the poultry from a breeder in Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val and chooses its fruit and vegetables from producers in Toulouse. For drinks too, Laura Pelou relies on the local. Fruit juices come from Pouget Housebased on Pruines, the sodas of the Olt brewery in La Salle and the wines offered are regional.
“I do with what nature gives us. The fruits and vegetables used change according to the seasons. The same goes for the meat being, given that I only use fresh products,” adds Laura Pelou. The chef will therefore reinvent the menu each season.
A first restaurant in Aveyron
Laura Pelou has been working in the restaurant business for almost ten years. It opened three years ago a first establishment north of Villefranche-de-Rouerguename it Causses garden. Here too, the young chef sublimates regional products in elaborate preparations, such as a chicken fricassee with trumpets of death or a chuck of beef and potatoes roasted in duck fat.
A year ago, she was selected among the young talents from the Gault et Millau gastronomic guide. This victory enabled her to benefit from a scholarship, which she decided to invest in a new restaurant in Toulouse. “I was born in the Pink City and I studied there in a hotel school, so it was obvious for me to seize the opportunity to open a restaurant there. In addition, Aveyron is very calm in winter and I wanted to settle in a much more dynamic place,” concludes Laura Pelou. A love for the capital of Occitania that she will show to her future customers through generous cuisine from the opening, in just a few days, of Gram’s.
Practical information : The Gram’s, 64 rue de la Colombette, Toulouse. Open Tuesday to Saturday, lunchtime and evening services. Reservations on 05 61 63 61 21.