BLACKBOOK IN THE KNOW GLOBAL GOURMAND ON OUR CULINARY RADAR: ALEC LOBRANO TRAVELS FROM CENTRAL FRANCE TO BARCELONA TO DISCOVER A GREAT RESTAURANT REINVENTED AND A CATALAN CURIOSITY. PLUS, A QUARTET OF GASTRONOMIC TOMES Country Idyll French culinary titan Michel Troisgros and his son César tell Centurion about the new location of their fabled eponymous restaurant The Troisgros: Léo, Marie- Pierre, her husband Michel, César and his fiancée, Fanny Pralus A fter spending 86 years opposite the train station in the central French town of Roanne, Troisgros (troisgros.com) has a new home. One of Europe’s most hallowed restaurants – it has held three Michelin stars since 1968 – the spectacular new setting is a Tuscan-style villa built in 1858 on a 17ha farm in Ouches, around nine kilometres outside Roanne. Flanking the original villa, the magnificent newly built dining room is named Le Bois sans Feuilles (The Forest Without Leaves, right) for the 73 steel pillars that support the glass-and-metal pavilion, which surrounds a century-old oak tree in a central courtyard. It was designed by French architect Patrick Bouchain, the man behind the Troisgros’s auberge, La Colline du Colombier, set deep in the country 35km north in Iguerande. In addition to the restaurant, which is open for lunch and dinner, the new location has 15 bedrooms, which come with high ceilings, oak parquet floors and stylish contemporary furnishings. Why did you decide to move? MT: We wanted to be closer to nature, both for the pleasure of our guests and as a source of inspiration for our cooking. I also wanted to give my sons [Léo, 24, is also now working in the kitchen with his brother] the tools they need to write a new chapter of our restaurant’s history – a beautiful setting and a big state-ofthe-art kitchen. In what way is the cooking different at the new restaurant? CT: Our idea of gastronomic pleasure has evolved for a new century. Now it has to be healthy and also respectful of the environment. So local sourcing is a priority for us. This is why we’re planting a big garden on the farm and also fruit trees. I really like the acidulated and sweet-and-sour flavours that are my father’s culinary trademark, but a lot of my cooking today is inspired by Asia. I especially love the purity of Japanese cooking. ▲ Marinated varieties of beetroot on pastry ▲ Shellfish broth with squash, spinach and green ravioli paste Which dishes on the menu best reflect your new style of cooking? CT: The grilled veal sweetbreads with sesame sauce is one of my creations, but we also continue to serve classics from my father’s cuisine, including “Truffe, lait Fontana”, a fine leaf of milk curd on top of a purée of black truffle, a dish that is an homage to Lucio Fontana, the late Italian-Argentinian painter known for his slashed canvases [when the dish is served the waiter cuts the curd to reveal the truffle purée it hides]. How do you work together in the kitchen? MT: It’s a constant exchange of ideas between us, sort of like a tennis match. CT: I value my family’s culinary heritage. So I innovate with deep respect for my father’s opinion. Our métier is making people happy, and my goal is to perpetuate our family’s history by accomplishing that in a new century. FARM-TO-TABLE IS THE MANTRA AT NEWLY OPENED JEAN-GEORGES AT THE CONNAUGHT (the-connaught.co.uk) WHERE CHEF VONGERICHTEN BRINGS HIS STAR-STUDDED CUISINE ALONGSIDE ART BY LOUISE BOURGEOIS AND SEAN SCULLY TO THE MAYFAIR ESTABLISHMENT THAT IS, COINCIDENTALLY, THE FIRST HOTEL HE VISITED IN LONDON MANY YEARS AGO. PHOTOS MARIE-PIERRE MOREL 54 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM FOR HOT TABLES IN MUST-VISIT CITIES GO TO: CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
