In the gardens of the Domaine du Mas de Pierre, in Saint-Paul de Vence, an olfactory journey goes beyond the scents of Provence and invites you to go further, from rosemary to curry … In this privileged place, this journey is possible just by performing a few hundred yards. You just have to go through the vegetable garden which multiplies the openings to the world, by the so aptly named “garden of scents”, then to join the white sand lagoon which transports to the antipodes and finally to come to the restaurant which unifies all the places, all regions, all tastes. Starting from the Burgundy – Franche-Comté region where he comes from, executive chef Maxime Leconte wanted to go and experience the cuisines of the world. He did it, backpack, going from restaurants of renowned chefs to family tables in remote regions. Now, on the strength of his experiences, he cooks a cuisine full of flavors and surprises at La Table de Pierre. The mix is a source of wonder, local products take on more dimension with recipes inspired by all continents.
Trained in Dijon and Mercurey, sous-chef of a restaurant in Montpellier at the age of 21, Maxime Leconte met other travelers at Domaine du Mas de Pierre. Room manager Norman Bourgoin lived in Mexico. Pastry chef Dorian Lutzelschwab, as his name suggests, was born in… Antibes! “But half of my family is in Bitche and Strasbourg,” he corrects with a broad smile. This Provençal from the Grand Est, under the banner of Alain Ducasse, went to London and Monaco. Maxime, 28, is the trio who has traveled the most. He worked in Saint-Gingolph, on the Swiss border and went to meet the real culinary traditions of many countries. Puerto Rico, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, Morocco, Indonesia, saw him pass and cook.
“I had prepared my trips on the networks,” explains the chef. “At each stage, I went to both professionals and residents. The recipes are not the same on large tables and in families. Both looks are exciting. I was able to see the interpretations and traditional recipes which can also vary simply from one village to another! I discovered specialties and the use of ingredients. “During the” casting “aiming to constitute the new team of Mas de Pierre after the expansion work, Maxime Leconte’s cuisine seduced by its originality: it intelligently combines essential local products and spices, herbs, techniques from elsewhere.
It offers a ceviche with corn in three textures. A matured duck accompanied by a beetroot tartare. A langoustine placed on a unique vaporous rice mousse associated with a typically Nice courgette flower doll. It cooks fish in cocoa butter which considerably reduces the fat intake without changing the taste. He uses the microgreens with extreme precision so that they provide a real taste effect and not just a note of aesthetic refinement.
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Taste strategies
Maxime Leconte does not hesitate to reverse the methods. Rather than accompanying a dish with a spicy sauce that the customer can add or not, he puts a typical Peruvian chimichurri directly on the lamb, crushed with a pestle, and he serves a sauce made from annatto seeds. which judiciously moderates the power. So much so that his cuisine brings little-known flavors, surprising associations that are becoming obvious. The very precise balance maintains the taste of the central product of the dish.
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The wines suggested by Norman Bourgoin, in the role of the sommelier, go perfectly with even the most complex dishes. The desserts are in phase. Dorian Lutzelschwab uses the products in their entirety, playing on textures and presentations. Everything is subtle, like the presence of Ma Khen pepper with its tangerine notes. The pear joins the hibiscus, the orange joins the apple and a five-spice jelly and toasted pine nuts. He revolutionized the essential chocolate proposition by using cocoa bean pulp provided by a chocolatier in Grasse. “This pulp is usually discarded, yet it brings an original tangy note. “
While keeping the local roots, La Table de Pierre is constantly on the lookout for a wonderful trip to the land of flavors.
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