Fabien Ferré at Le Castellet
Fabien Ferré © GP
He has, as we know, the heavy task of taking over the stoves of the three-star restaurant at the Domaine du Castellet. This one, which was initially to be called Lavinia, will change its tune to avoid any confusion with the large branch cellar and of Spanish origin of the same name. It is therefore under the sign of “La Table du Castellet”, that Fabien Ferré, a Burgundian native of Autun (in Saône et Loire), spent three years at Troisgros in Roanne and rallied to the virtues of Provence under the leadership of Christophe Bacquié , with whom he remained for ten years, will work and return to starry combat. His table should reopen on April 15 and offer two menus: “Expression Végétale” and “Expression Marine”. Coming from a family of pastry chefs and farmer grandparents, fascinated by the work of producers, Fabien Ferré will pay homage to them through his creations, such as his white asparagus from Ventoux with burnt lemon and sea bacon or his artichoke from Provence. roasted with lovage and caviar sorbet. Passionate about the delicacy of Mediterranean products, fish and shellfish, he will select his own fish every morning at the Sanary-Sur-Mer market, just 20 minutes from Le Castellet. Planned opening of the Table du Castellet: April 15.
Bruno Chastagnac in Toulon
Bruno Chastagnac © GP
Bruno Chastagnac? We had known this good, serious chef, a native of Orange, formerly of the Pourcel brothers in Montpellier, of the Mas des Herbes Blanches in Joucas and of Tante Claire in London, when he exercised his talent at the Hôtel de l’île Redhead in Bandol. He stayed there for fifteen years, before moving to Toulon and working first for a local restaurant. Now he has settled in with discretion, with his wife Pascale, a stone’s throw from the port and not from the arsenal, in a tiny place that can only hold twenty covers and was once called Chez Mimi. It’s called the Pastel, the menus are well balanced and without boasting, the plates are neat, the prices of the wines are wise. On the program, fine, clean things, seasoned with meticulousness and precision. Thus the asparagus, with their smoked herring roe caviar, light black garlic aioli, the exquisite natural cuttlefish quenelle, with its fine favouille soup, (green crabs from the Mediterranean), flamed mussels or even this cream of peas with mint served with carrot ravioli with cumin, ginger and salt pork shavings. In short, we understand that, unknown to the Michelin, which could give it its gourmet bib, the address is a hit for lunch and dinner.
Bastien Cathala in Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer
Bastien Cathala and Sacha Brunette © GP
L’Es/pacio on the port of Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer: the fine restaurant of Bastien Cathala, who worked for six years at La Chassagnette in Arles, where he was second in command to Armand Arnal. This native of the village returned to the country, with his companion Sacha Brunette who bravely started cooking by his side, with the alert and cheerful service of his two partners Florian Vera and Emmanuel Tomatis. The place is chic, playing with the neat wood of the pretty tables and chairs at lunchtime, the white tablecloth in the evening, the fabric napkins, the nods to modern art on the wall. And menu side, it “sends” dry very pretty plates. You can nibble right away, share, treat yourself, with the fried Jerusalem artichokes (like French fries), served on a thin cream (“thonnée”) vitello tonnato style, or even the salad of blond lentils and smoked scarmoza mousse. Appetizers, main courses and desserts (emulsified ricotta with amarena cherries and “earpiece”) are of the same ilk. The prices are reasonable and the wine list has a wealth of good things (Provençal) at low prices.
Nicolas Sintes in Cassis
Nicolas Sintes © GP
It is not him that we expected at Roches Blanches in Cassis. We were wrong. Nicolas Sintes wowed us this winter in Megève, at Les Fermes de Marie, with a tasting menu that was a splendid ode to Savoy, its traditions, its products, its ideas, its craftsmen. But this traveler from Cannes, trained at the Villa des Lys with Bruno Oger, then moved to Juana in Juan-les-Pins, with Christian Morisset, both winners of two stars, before the Mirabeau de Monaco with the MOF Didier Aniès, but also in Switzerland (with Denis Martin in Vevey and at the Beau Rivage in Lausanne), stayed for four years with Daniel Boulud in New York, wanted to return to the Riviera country. We had known him formerly at the Bastide of Saint-Tropez. In the meantime, he was the head of the Ferme d’Augustine. Now, after six and a half years in Savoy with the Sibuets, he is returning to his sources at Roches Blanches, from April 1st. This beautiful seaside hotel has three tables: Les Belles Canailles, Rocco and finally the Loup Bar, where he can give his creative measure and peep the star hanging from his nose in Megève.
Hideki Nakamura chez Cena
Hideki Nakamura et David Lanher © GP
Rue Treilhard, in a gourmet street where good restaurants abound a stone’s throw or almost opposite the European market, Cena, the house of Laurent Plantier and David Lanher (the latter manages, among other things, the Bon Saint-Pourçain , Racines, Anima, the Crémerie, the Caffé Stern), plays its card brilliantly. There was Alban Chartron, 32, a gifted young man from Lyon who had worked at the Bristol, at the Louis XV, at Pic and the town hall in Crissier, then, for quite a long time, for an interlude which preceded the delayed opening of their Astrance, the Rohat/Barbot duo. It is now the very good Japanese Hideki Nakamura who sticks to it. This former Passage 53, with Shinishi Sato, who ran the kitchens of the house that became Table 53 and whose wife runs the starred Benaton in Beaune, here plays the game of bourgeois French cuisine, revisited with a completely light Japanese. Its kitchen team is also 100% Japanese and the Franco-French register is flawlessly delicacy, not a hitch. At noon, we choose à la carte. For example, grilled amberjack, with radish, cottage cheese, citrus vinaigrette, trout with endives, blood orange, passion fruit granita or even squid cut into spaghetti-style strips with celeriac, pancetta and smoked egg as a side dish. seductive entrances. And everything that is offered there with appropriate wines, suggested by the glass, is in the same good tone. In the evening, there is a surprise menu at €95. Dear ? No doubt, but the neighbor and new starred Maison Ruggeri has much higher prices (200 and 300 €, no less). And the house is full noon and night. SO ?
Joey Starr in Spring
Joey Starr in Spring © Vincent Blocquaux
Joey Starr in the kitchen? We will have seen it all ! But the rapper/songwriter/comedian (from “ Policies » and so many others), co-leader of NTM with his friend Kool Shen, is also the gastronome without blinkers of « Bistronomy“, his eclectic guide, and the creator of the gourmet magazine “Five Starr”. It is indeed his gourmet values, both traditional and innovative, diverse and colorful, that he intends to defend at the Bleu Coupole restaurant at Printemps in Paris. On the 6th floor of the “Printemps Femme” department store at 58 boulevard Haussmann, Didier Morville alias Joey Starr signs his first restaurant menu, developed with the resident chef, Clément Blondeau. On the program: a certain idea – his own – of the “ eat real » with the help of seasonal products from small rooted artisans. The whole is illustrated by a series of dishes without taboos or borders: crab soup with coconut milk, taloa and lean ceviche, mackerel stuffed and bacon with potatoes or mashed sausage with wild garlic pesto and shavings of sheep cheese. The whole thing can end with a French toast, “route du rhum” style. The experience, which presents itself as an enticing curiosity, must end on June 15. But it can be renewed if successful.
The team of Paul Chêne rue du Cherche Midi
Charly Laborde with Adrien and Sébastien Dufour © GP
We can’t stop the Dufour brothers! We already know them at Paul Chêne, rue Lauriston in Paris 16th, on the edge of the “Troca”, at Petit Chêne rue Gros, very close to the Maison de la Radio, as well as at Comptoir des Chênes, rue de Lübeck, two steps from the Palais Galliera and the Fashion Museum. Sébastien the eldest, Adrien the youngest, who seem to work while having fun – or the opposite – have succeeded in recreating places as before, in a “ traditional Parisian bistros“, taking up the beautiful lesson learned at the school of the Dumant brothers at the Auberge Bressane, in the Marches or at the Paris Seize. These two jolly fellows have something to look forward to – their parents owned the iconic Brasserie Lorraine on Place des Ternes. They, who understood everything about the classic desires of the moment of a happy and very Parisian clientele who like to go out without necessarily breaking the bank, made egg mayo, fillet of beef with pepper and real crispy fries (and homemade !) their credo, all in beautiful old-fashioned decors that have been nicely rediscovered. And that’s exactly what they’re offering, now on the left bank, opening, at 79 rue de la rue du Cherche Midi, instead of the old Cantine du Troquet, a brand new bistro that already looks old, tasty, lively, playful, with its swarm of young and funny regulars, crossing the Seine just for them. With their partner in this new business, Charly Laborde, they uncork the bottles of Beaujolais and Burgundies at who better to better on a bar as beautiful as a truck for a clientele of merry men who want more. And it’s the Parisian bistro of the moment to discover!
