|Places| Farm-fresh gourds double as decor at Le Doyenné By looking out the window and seeing this field of food being grown right in front of you, it’s literally transparent as to what’s happening here – Chef James Henry Au Passage and Bones, and Kelly, 39, had worked at Au Passage and Yard, a popular modern bistro), they were looking for a change, a restaurant that they could control and afford and that would possibly allow for a better quality of life. Certainly, they never predicted then that they would end up spending more than five years building a regenerative farm on a historic estate almost an hour south of Paris – and that was before they even opened a restaurant. But sometimes that’s how life works: when one is actively looking for positive change, it arrives, but often in a different, more challenging form than expected. As Kelly describes it, at one point during their search for a restaurant space, they were approached by the French heir to the Château de Saint-Vrain, a 15th-century estate in a village 41 kilometres south of Paris. The estate, which hadn’t been maintained for at least 60 years, was in need of a sustainable project that could bring it back to life; the Mortemart family, who had owned the château for more than two hundred years, thought that the two chefs were the right ones to do it. “From our first meeting, we pretty much had the same vision: to bring back the potage garden, raise pigs in the wood, create a sustainable model,” says Kelly. “But we initially said no because we had never farmed before and we thought it was just too big and too far away.” They kept talking, and soon, the two chefs decided to take the risk and sign on. They taught themselves about regenerative farming as they did the work, planted hundreds of fruit trees and shrubs, and made it through Covidrelated restrictions by selling heirloom vegetables to chef friends in Paris. Instead of choosing to place the restaurant in the château, they decided to renovate the horse stables with the help of the French architectural collective Ciguë. With this decision, they made several strong statements: the stable complex is still a monumental space but one with more humble, agricultural origins; one side of the building overlooks the farm, but the two of them prefer to “show our mission through action,” says Henry. “By looking out the window and seeing this field of food being grown right in front of you, it’s literally transparent as to what’s happening here.” The restaurant finally debuted in June of last year, and shortly afterwards, the guesthouse, a wing of 10 rooms, was opened. Today, as a visitor arrives at the entrance set within a renovated stone wall, they follow a long drive that passes about a dozen-and-a-half jet-black Le Mans and spotted Maran chickens, an expanse of parkland punctuated by centuries-old trees, a pond PHOTOS MARINE BILLET 16 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
filled with wild geese, the three-storey, 18th-century château, still closed off, before they finally arrive at the expansive stables. There is no real reception; guests collect their keys in the new farm shop, which sells vegetables and bread baked in-house by former Tartine (the cultish bakery started by Chad Robertson in San Francisco) baker Lori Oyamada. The rooms, in a way, resemble the food itself: with beautiful artisanmade objects (linen sheets, ceramic vases) and colour coming from bouquets of fresh or dried flowers. In the evenings, if it’s winter, guests first gather around the large open stone and brick fireplace, sipping on glasses of natural wine (the chefs poached French sommelier Thibault Chauvet from 108 in Copenhagen) and are then called to their tables, some of which look in on a team of about six people working in the spacious kitchen with a wood-fired grill. A flurry of humble but ambitious dishes made from the produce of the farm is then served, starting with charcuterie made from the estate’s pigs, and thick slices of Oyamada’s rich sourdough bread, followed by dishes such as a smoked leek and homemade ricotta laces with kale pesto and roasted hazelnuts, and squid served on chanterelles flavoured with a stock of squid offal and tomato passata and coloured almost black from squid ink. It ends leisurely with a flurry of simple but elevated desserts, like an impossibly creamy vanilla sorbet topped with bright red-orange flakes of granita. Henry, who is the head chef (Kelly is the head of farming) started cooking because he wanted to travel the world and share its delicious flavours with people. These days, however, ambitious and earnest chefs with a conscience and critical-thinking skills are pulled into social and political issues, whether they want to be or not. From the moment that restaurantgoers began to ask the question “Where does this come from?” in order to understand whether the food was being sourced ethically and sustainably, chefs have often taken on the role of social activist, scientist and even unofficial mayor. This has made the role of chef more challenging than ever, as recently confirmed by the announcement that Rene Redzepi will be shutting down Noma next year. Throwing themselves into farming was hugely eye-opening for Kelly and Henry. “We didn’t really understand it when we were ordering from our producers from Paris, but these small farmers out here in the countryside, especially the ones trying to do it right and be organic, can barely make ends meet,” says Kelly. Henry adds, “Very few people are talking about how hard this work is. But you can take pleasure from it. Responsible agriculture practice produces incredibly flavourful ingredients with impressive nutritional density. You can’t avoid sacrificing when you want to do the right thing. It makes you ask the question, ‘Why am I doing this?’” Not long after, he, in part, answers his own question. “Already since we arrived, we have improved this land. We built a farm where there wasn’t one and are working in a responsible way. There are 350 people coming to this village once a week who never came here before,” he says, adding, “Those are the rewards of our vision coming slowly to life. That’s the validation that we are on the right path.” Both chefs brought up several similar projects that have served as inspiration, from The Farm in Byron Bay, Australia to La Ferme de la Ruchotte in Burgundy, pointing out that there are many chefs and farmers and projects at the moment that are trying to create new models for a sustainable, healthy and fair culinary ecosystem. Le Doyenné’s American baker Lori Oyamada says, “I am just curious to see how far we can take it and what the new lessons will be. Shaun and James have hired so many people at the top of their game here who have worked in so many countries and restaurants. Something really good is bound to grow here.” ledoyennerestaurant.com A peek inside the estate’s greenhouse CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM 17
