november-2010

52 METROPOLITAN
— INSIDER —
LABOUR OF LOVE
France’s annual festival of food photography gives this year’s judge,
Michelin-starred chef Alain Passard the chance to expound the joys and
virtues of growing your own vegetables, finds Margaret Kemp
One morning at the beginning of the
millennium, superchef Alain Passard woke up
and realised he didn’t want to eat meat or have
it on the menu at l’Arpège, his hip left-bank
Michelin three-star restaurant. “Vegetables
are so much more colourful and exciting,”
proclaims the 54-year-old son of musicians
from La Guerche in Brittany.
Passard also realised the fruit and vegetables
he was buying were not of the quality he
required. So he bought the Château de Gros
Chesnay in the Sarthe region near Le Mans and
set about cultivating his own produce on its rich
arable land. Today, with the help of a dedicated
team, he has added hectares in Normandy and
the bay of Mont Saint-Michel to his organic
fruit, herb and vegetable garden collection.
Each potager (kitchen garden) has been chosen
for its special soil. Most unusually, no tractors
are used, just horse-drawn ploughs and lots
of back-breaking hard work. Passard says the
co-operation of animals and insects maintains
a balanced eco-system. There are nesting boxes
for birds and beehives to ensure effective
pollination. Of course, the honey from the hives is
used in Passard’s signature millefeuille dessert.
“The incentive is to fi nd ways of being more
creative when there is less,” he says. “My Luddite
ways may not seem practical, and of course they
need meticulous planning and forward
thinking, but I want to get back to the ways of
the land where I grew up in Brittany. Without
my gardens there would be no l’Arpège, without
the restaurant no garden. For my team and for
me, it’s a labour of love and learning.”
His seasonal vegetables arrive in Paris by
TGV daily in time for lunch, so that diners are
eating the freshest produce possible. Waste food
from the restaurant is recycled and used as
compost for the gardens across the country.
Carnivores will be happy to know that lamb,
poultry, game, fi sh and seafood are now back
on the menus, but they do not predominate.
It is small wonder that the French Ministry
of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Ministry of
Culture and Communication have asked Passard
to head the jury of the second International
Festival of Food Photography. The theme this
year is “I went out into my garden”.
This free festival of photography, which runs
till November 14, will feature the rich and
varied work of 37 professional photographers
from all over the world, as well as work by
students of photography and cooking in Paris.
Exhibitions and judging will take place in and
around Bercy Village in Paris’s 12th
arrondissement, where 19th-century wine
warehouses have been restored as boutiques,
wine bars, restaurants and galleries.
There are fi ve categories of prizes, including
one by public vote, a prize for the best young
talent among the students and a prize for best
amateur, in which the general public and
members of the gastro-blogging community
are invited to participate.
To mark the event, Passard has designed a
handsome wicker basket stuffed with his produce
which he will be presenting to participating
students. The public can buy the baskets or order
them in advance from l’Arpège.
During the festival Passard and other
well-known chefs will be giving
demonstrations and taking part in debates,
which all are welcome to attend. “For me cuisine
and photography are very similar visually,” says
Passard. “This event will heighten the fi ve
senses of all who love growing, cooking, eating
and photographing their food.”
Collages & Recettes by Alain Passard is out
now (Editions Alternatives, €25)