|Places| 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 PHOTO MARINE BILLET A peek inside the estate’s greenhouse 38 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
