Eating locally, enjoying local products, favoring farm-to-table sustainable agriculture and following the cycle of the seasons... The trend is towards "locavorism". In the land of gastronomy, more and more French chefs are adopting the recipe. To cook good, healthy and sustainable food, farms and vegetable gardens next door have never been so popular. The proof is in this gourmet selection from the beautiful regions of France.
Sapid, Ducasse by nature in Paris
Terrestrial, nomadic and sustainable cuisine... That's how Alain Ducasse sums up his ambition with his new Parisian address on rue de Paradis. In all simplicity, just like the crates of victuals in the window, Sapid is a "refectory" restaurant, friendly and affordable. The famous Michelin-starred chef who once graced the Plaza Athénée is banking on "naturalness". On the plates, on the large shared tables, vegetables and cereals play the stars to sublimate a cuisine of fresh products, with original flavours, and with a low environmental impact. We vote for it...even if we have to order at a terminal and clear our tray at the end of the meal.
Le Braque, hunting and gathering in Lille, Hauts-de-France
The long-awaited opening of Le Braque in the capital of the Hauts-de-France region has become an event. It has to be said that Top Chef Damien Laforce's first restaurant is sure to entice the taste buds with its promise of the good taste of his native Flanders . From pâté croute with venison to pithiviers with squab, the discovery of this hunting and gathering cuisine, which follows the seasons, is appealing but does not disappoint! For the record, Le Braque is Marcel, Damien's dog, a faithful companion on an inspiring journey to discover nature and the best producers and market gardeners in the region.
Roses and Nettles, back to the roots in Toulouse, in Occitania
For Yannick Delpech, the former chef of the Amphitryon in Toulouse, a new story has begun in 2020. The race for stars is over! His new restaurant Des Roses et des Orties in Colomiers, at the gates of the pink city, is a return to his roots. For this farmer's son, nature and proximity, know-how and sustainable farming are now the guiding principles, with the aim of achieving 100% local products on the plates. A gastronomic experience of conviviality and sharing to be savoured in a place where a restaurant, a cocktail bar "Chlorophylle", a pastry shop and a wine cellar cohabit.
Finally, and as long as it lasts in Barr, Alsace
Telling the seasons and Alsace as a story, sourcing as close to the land as possible from the surrounding farms, winegrowers and brewers, and only allowing a few digressions, but always with French provenance... This is the name of Carole Eckert and Lucas Engel's fiercely organic and locavore Table, which won the title of "Jeune Talent Grand Est 2021" (Young Talent of the East) as soon as it opened. A few kilometres from Strasbourg, on the road to Mont Saint-Odile, you should stop off at this former slipper factory and carpenter's workshop, an old stone building magnificently transformed into a warm and luminous restaurant. On the menu, depending on the inspiration and the season, you can enjoy duck gyosas and sauerkraut, a Rhine barbel or an arctic char like a civet... Just divine.
Maison nouvelle, just like home in Bordeaux, New Aquitaine
A restaurant like a private home in a beautiful building of blonde stone, where you ring the doorbell and the chef himself opens the door. In the charming Chartrons district of Bordeaux, Philippe Etchebest is a thoughtful host who promises to sublimate the best of the South West, his native land. At Maison nouvelle, the chef plays and delights with talented local produce. Marie Le Guen's pigeons in Dordogne, vegetables from the Bagatelle farm or the Mérignas mushroom farm in Gironde... So many references to serve dishes that are masterfully presented.
The Café Basque, more real than real in Biarritz, in the Basque Country
On the aptly named Place Bellevue, the Café Basque invites you to savour local gastronomy in the blue "seaside" decor designed by Sarah Lavoine. Chef Cédric Béchade revisits the classics of Basque cuisine with respect and always a touch of mischief, working creatively with local and seasonal products from the surrounding farms. Chipirons à l'encre, piperade, Ibaïama pig axoa or Madiran mushroom tart, to be enjoyed with bread from the Biarritz baker Arnaud Fernandez: the gustatory journey is both enchanting and disorientating. Just like the choice of crockery, with a large place for the creations of Goicoechea, the famous pottery of the Basque Country.
L'Auberge sauvage, in the bay of Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy
Oh, what a beautiful place this is! A former presbytery in Servon, a stone's throw from Mont Saint-Michel, between cow pastures and salt meadows. It is the new gourmet and militant den of Jessica Schein and Thomas Benady, two convinced "locavorists". In their Auberge sauvage (where you can also book a room), they give their visitors a fine lesson in local cuisine. Everything, absolutely everything, comes from the bay and this land where the grass is rich and fat, the water omnipresent and the soil fertile. All you need to cook a menu in 4, 6 or 8 steps, spontaneously imagined from the day's fishing and harvest...
Empreinte, short circuits in Vannes, Brittany
A pocket restaurant, but which already has all the makings of a great table, in a pretty street in the historic centre of Vannes... A stone's throw from the Gulf of Morbihan, Empreinte has made its mark, taking advantage of its location between land and sea to assert its locavore style. Behind the stove, Baptiste Fournier works with sourced products. Vegetables, fruit, herbs, seaweed, wild flowers, fish, shellfish, meat: no sourcing beyond a 30 kilometre radius for this chef who advocates a cuisine that is lively and spontaneous, meticulous and respectful, simple and tasty. We come back because the menu changes every week. No showboating, but leaving a lasting impression.
The Cibo, so good in Dijon, Burgundy
The youngest starred chef in France in 2016, Angelo Ferrigno is passionate about gastronomy. He also likes to take up challenges, such as limiting his daily supply radius to 200 kilometres for the pleasure of sharing good local produce. In the heart of Dijon, it is in a beautiful 17th century Burgundy stone building that he has set up his stoves, taking the time to refine the refined and contemporary décor as well as the committed locavore approach. A unique menu, renewed daily and seasonally, highlights the talent of producers and breeders who have become faithful and indispensable companions in the kitchen.
Gwaien, all sails out in Nantes, in the Pays de la Loire
A restaurant of fresh, local (Vendée, Maine et Loire, Brittany, Loire Atlantique...) and seasonal products... That's all there is to it, but it should be added that with Gwaien it is also a piece of Cape Sizun, at the extreme tip of Finistère, which has dropped anchor in Nantes. Just a stone's throw from the Talensac market, Jeremy Guivarch and his team mix land and sea, iodine and vegetables, with a weakness for fish, always from responsible fishing, without however excluding meat. The menu is short but it is a guarantee of proximity, spontaneity and sincerity. We like it!
Rustic, country cooking in Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône Alpes
"My cooking is like country life, raw and generous, marked by the power of the wood fire and the freshness of the plants". These are the words of Maxime Laurenson, the chef from Auvergne (one Michelin star) who, after working his way up at Loiseau Rive Gauche in Paris, cooks up his tasty dishes at Rustique, in the heart of the Lyon peninsula. The unique menu, of up to 10 courses, showcases the best of the region, from the Auvergne to the Alps. And it's in a natural setting (exposed stonework, oak parquet flooring, walnut tables) that you can enjoy a range of lentils from Le Puy (crisps, mousse, savoury...), snails from Savoie, catfish from the Bresse ponds or trout from Isère with a delicate sorrel purée. Did you say rustic?
From La Maison d'à Côté to Fleur de Loire, in Blois, in the Loire Valley
Christophe Hay, the godfather of the last edition of Goût de France/Good France, is passionate about plant-based cuisine and ancient vegetables. The two Michelin-starred chef likes to introduce them at La Maison d'à Côté, his beautiful and good restaurant in the Loire Valley, near the Chambord castle. The chef is now based in Blois, in the restaurant that bears his name. This new gourmet restaurant, which has already been awarded two Michelin stars and a green star, puts the tasty treasures of a one-hectare permaculture vegetable garden on your plate. From fork to fork, it's just a few kilometres and the talent of an outstanding chef. Run there!
Racines, the all-vegetable in Nice, on the Côte d'Azur
And that's three! After the Hostellerie Jérôme, with two Michelin stars, and Le Café de la Fontaine both in La Turbie, in the Côte d'Azur hinterland, Bruno Cirino and his wife Marion have taken "Racines" in Nice. Their new restaurant celebrates vegetables and all products from the land with a green thumb. Every day, the chef goes to the market with his local producers. Just a stone's throw from the Halle de la Gare du Sud and the Libération market, the "all-vegetable" restaurant plays the vegetable garden card with inventiveness, and it's a blast! Because there is always a juice, a sauce or a broth to sublimate artichokes, fava beans, brocoletti, Jerusalem artichokes and other gourmet peas from the region.
Le petit Matieu, a sense of sharing in Ajaccio, Corsica
Initially based in Paris, le Petit Matieu has taken up residence on the island of beauty and Ajaccio has gained a new address under the sign of conviviality and sharing. In this little cocoon, the lunch menu changes every day, inspired by the market and the rhythm of the seasons. Fresh products, the spirit of the times, Mediterranean inspirations and grandmotherly recipes... Mathieu Gontier also knows how to play on his Corsican origins to vary the gustatory pleasures. Figatelli here, brocciu there, courgette fritters or veal cannelloni made in Corsica, the dishes quickly take on the flavours of the maquis. The relaxed bistro atmosphere is also well suited to festive and musical evenings with aperitifs featuring nuggets from the island's small producers.
Hododa, the plant-based canteen in Marseille, Provence
Hododa, which has been awarded the Ecotable label, is an eco-responsible place to try out in the heart of Marseille's charming Panier district. A veritable vegan canteen, gourmets and lovers of good food come at all hours of the day to sample products produced almost exclusively by organic farming: a vegan omelette with seasonal vegetables and homemade vegetable butter for breakfast, Rösti with courgette tagliatelle, candied cherry tomatoes and rocket micro pods for lunch... And because veganism isn't just about food, Arthur and Rachel, the two founders of the restaurant, also offer workshops, yoga courses and ceramics workshops. A healthy and tasty break to recharge your batteries during a stay in Provence.
By Pascale Filliâtre
Journalist-traveller. I often voyage to the end of the world to explore what France offers... just next door. filliatre.pascale@orange.fr
