|
In the Garden of the Senses
Twin Chefs in Montpellier Blend the
Modern and Traditional
MONTPELLIER, France - They are known as les Freres
Pourcel, twin brothers who shook the French food world
just a year ago as they captured the coveted third Michelin
star for their modern, personalized restaurant on the
outskirts of this southern city.
Along with their partner-maitre d'hotel-sommelier,
Olivier Chateau, theylike to joke that they now have
a star for each one of them.
The Pourcel story is a familiar French one. The twins
Jacques and Laurent, sons of a local winemaker, grew
up with a passion for the food that marries with the
rich and heady local wines. As a double tour de force,
they spread their wings around the country, Laurent
apprenticing to such top French chefs as Michel Bras
and Alain Chapel, and Jacques working under the tutelage
of Michel Trama, Marc Meneau and Pierre Gagnaire. They
opened their own restaurant, Le Jardin des Sens, in
Montpellier in 1988 and seem never to have looked back.
Their restaurant-hotel matches their cuisine, with
a look distinctly contemporary (the architect, Bruno
Borrione, is known for his work at New York's Paramount
and Royalton hotels) and a cuisine that intelligently
blends tradition with modernity.
Be warned: The place is very hard to find, even for
one with a good sense of direction and all the Michelin
literature. (Internet users may visit the restaurant
Web site - www.relaischateaux.fr - and print out a map.)
- Vast, Tiered Dining Room Once you find it, you will
enter into a garden of the senses: The vast
tiered dining room overlooks a garden in progress,
with a 400-year-old olive tree, fruit trees and vines.
Everywhere, from the Porthault linens to the Bernardaud
china, you see that they have determined to do it right.
My only complaints: prefer a more classic look and find
the huge room more of a theater set than a dining room.
I also missed a female presence, one that inevitably
lightens and softens what can sometimes be a sobering
and off-putting grand three-star experience. The food
is a model of modernity, although it is clear that the
Pourcels are not about to abandon the great French traditions.
Working with the regional larder of Provence and the
Languedoc, they have at their disposal fresh oysters,
extraordinary sea bass (loup de mer), plump farm pigeons
and tender veal.
Their food is complex in ingredients, rich in flavor,
but simple to understand: Who could not adore a warming
first course of fresh wild cepe mushrooms paired with
thin slices of country ham, a tender confit of shallots
and garlic, leaves of baby spinach, all bathed in a
sauce blending rich meat juices and fragrant walnut
oil? Sometimes the combinations are daring, as in bonbons
of crusty, deep-fried foie gras served with a sweet-and-sour
salad of pears in vanilla and teamed with a salad featuring
grilled-rapeseed oil.
Simpler, and so welcoming, is their salad of ''all
the season's vegetables, served raw and served cooked''
tossed with a bouquet of herbs in a vinaigrette of olive
oil and lemon. The drama continues, with rich filets
of young pigeon served atop a sort of Moroccan pastry-wrapped
pastilla filled with giblets and seasoned with a touch
of curry, all served with pan-seared pears and pigeon
juice with a touch of cocoa. And I defy anyone to find
fault with the flawless roasted veal chop, simply deglazed
with a touch of young garlic, and served with a tiny
salad and stuffed Provencal vegetables.
Their food is audacious and architectural, like many
of the world's chefs who are filled with that youthful
exuberance. But the difference between the Pourcel brothers
and those chefs in Sydney or New York is that the twins
have training and tradition, a foundation that so many
other young chefs lack. Add to this Chateau's extraordinary
knowledge of the great wines of the Languedoc, and a
good time is assured. - For longtime fans of Pile ou
Face in Paris, it was a sad day indeed when they sold
the thriving Michelin-starred restaurant three years
ago.
Lucky for us, the three restaurateurs - Claude Udron,
Alain Dumergue and Philippe Marquet - resurfaced in
July on the Mediterranean coast, in Marseillan, about
50 kilometers (30 miles) from Montpellier. In this quiet
seaside village, they opened the charming Chez Philippe,
a casual and perfectly appointed bistro with a argain
100-franc ($18) menu.
Since opening day, the ''complet'' sign has been out
for lunch and dinner, and reservations a week in advance
are not out of order. With chef Sebastien Demeulle at
the stove, Chez Philippe offers a choice menu of five
starters, five main courses and five desserts, all with
an accent on the anguedoc.
With such specialties as the layered vegetable omelette
crespeou; eggplant with delicate goat cheese; poached
oysters from the Bassin de Thau, and a gratin of mussels
cooked in the local Noilly Dry, we have a veritable
regional festival. – THE restaurateurs are always
searching, for a new local wine, a new local cheese
monger, a new local vegetable grower, a new local designer
to embellish their already well-tended prize. Go with
an eye toward pleasure, and hope that their exuberance,
attention to detail and passion for food rubs off.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
– Le Jardin des Sens, 11 Avenue Saint-Lazare,
34000 Montpellier. Tel: 04-67-79-63-38; fax: 04-67-72-13-05.
Credit cards: American Express, Diners Club, Visa. Closed
Sunday,
Monday lunch and two weeks in January. Menus from 230
to 590 francs (about
$40 to $100). A la carte, 190 to 480, including service
but not wine. Chez Philippe, 20 rue de Suffren, 34340
Marseillan. Tel: 04-67-01-70-62. Credit card: Visa.
Closed Sunday dinner, Monday and Tuesday. Open for dinner
only every night in July and August. Closed in January.
100-franc menu. A la carte, 150 to 170 francs, including
wine and service
|
