Jean-Yves Piccinali, a former butcher, inventive and earthy, attracts a clientele of gourmets to the heart of the small village of the Cévennes.
“Here, happiness is homemade” “Here, the meat is cooked pink, rare or… badly!” “Raise your elbow is the best way not to give up”.
At the Atelier des Épicuriens, the boss’s creeds are inscribed on the walls and avoid a lot of talk…
The owner of this very popular restaurant perched in the heart of the village of Saint-Paul-la-Coste is not a taciturn, but his cooked dishes speak for him. Former butcher, winner, in 2009, of the broadcast of the M6 channel, An almost perfect dinner, Jean-Yves Piccinali knows how to put good local products on his beautiful plates.
Never short of ideas, the lover of red meats, some of which come from Mas del Fray, at Salles-du-Gardon, at Audrey Burban and Nicolas Villain, took advantage of the summer to offer “a rotisserie! Every Sunday, you can come and get a chicken that I get from François Couderc, breeder in Saint-Paul (since 1998, Editor’s note), and which I prepare with care.”
“Eat less, but eat it better”
Passed Café de pays in 2018, the Atelier des Épicuriens also benefits from the “Esprit parc” label, a label shared by the PNC (Cévennes National Park) since 2019.
And on his menu, not just for visiting, is also displayed the Militant du goût label, in view (gourmet) of the medals won, since 2017, at the departmental competition: gold for his caillettes, to be enjoyed without moderation this summer, to barely heated and served on a board; silver for its tripe and bronze for its foie gras, to be discovered during the winter.
“Here is a meat bar!claims Jean-Yves Piccinali, between two phone rings which, in the summer, is the victim of a hiccup so much it rings for reservation requests . Meat, we can eat less of it, but we have to eat it better. And apart from the exceptional meats(from Galicia and Japan, editor’s note) ,
in the kitchen, I’m looking for kilometer zero…”
The vegetables come from the Prairie de Saint-Christol-lez-Alès, grown by Aurélien Veyret, the fish lands from Côté fish, in Grau-du-Roi, the wines are, among others, from the vines of Sylvain Ozil, in Castelnau -Valence (Domaine du Chêne), or Grégory Dubois, in Vézénobres (Domaine des Maladières). And for the summer, the boss has taken it into his head to prepare ice creams and sorbets himself. More“homemade happiness”
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