Bocuse House | The spirit of Paul Bocuse inspires evolution

(Colonges-au-Mont-d’Or) In front of the renovated inn overlooked by a golden rooster, a bronze statue and a “fresco of the great chefs” honor the famous French chef Paul Bocuse, but in the kitchen, the rhythm has been redesigned and the menu revised to meet current tastes.

The “centenary menu” (370 euros per guest, or $537) designed to celebrate the installation in 1924 of Paul Bocuse’s grandparents in Pont de Collonges, near Lyon, in east-central France, mixes the present and the past: “anthology dishes” such as whole Bresse poultry cooked in a pork bladder rub shoulders with recent creations, like lobster dumplings with champagne sauce.

“It wasn’t easy to go for something new while keeping the codes,” confides pastry chef Benoît Charvet, 41, recruited in 2019, after the death of the founder of Nouvelle cuisine, who ruled his house until ‘to his last breath.

Among the “essential” codes, the traditional dessert trolley. As for the new features: “more contemporary desserts with much more lightness, less sweet and less fatty”, “more aesthetic” and with “slightly smaller portions”.

“Every time we need a creation, we always think “What would Monsieur Paul have said?”… We all work like that, in that spirit,” underlines Vincent Le Roux, general director and husband of the granddaughter of the starred chef, who died on January 20, 2018 at the age of 91.

“After the departure of Mr. Paul, we were very affected because we lost our guide, our father,” but “I think that today he would be very proud to see that we stayed the course,” confides executive chef Gilles Reinhardt, 49 years old, including 25 in the house.

“It’s not a revolution, it’s really an evolution both in the kitchens and in the decor,” insists the man whom some present as the “guardian of the temple”. His credo: to remain faithful to what Bocuse called “a cuisine with bones and edges”. While offering new dishes, variations for vegetarians or gluten-free bread.

“Questioning”

“Monsieur Paul was of his time. It’s normal and I respect it, it was his choice, some came saying “this is Monsieur Paul’s cooking” but some could say “it’s perhaps lacking a little novelty. Questioning,” comments Benoît Charvet.

In 2020, the Michelin guide downgraded the flagship of French gastronomy, estimating that “the quality of the establishment remained excellent, but no longer at the level of a three star”.

“Obviously, all the teams were injured”, but “the support from our customers was enormous, we had record attendance in the history of the restaurant”, remembers Vincent Le Roux. Since then, the house’s turnover has continued to increase, reaching 11 million euros ($16 million) in 2023.

At the same time, the disappearance of “Monsieur Paul” marked a turning point for the quality of life of the teams with the move to two days of weekly closure, daily hours limited to eight hours, a reduction in the number of seats from 100 to 80 and an increase in kitchen staff.

An “unimaginable” change during the lifetime of the big boss, according to chef Olivier Couvin, 46 years old. “It’s an institution and we dared to do that,” he said before recalling his beginnings in “the other era”, when he sought “challenge, rigor and intensity” because he was unable to make a career as a parachutist. in the army.

“The profession is in danger if we do not understand that the world has changed,” believes the man who claims to have a “French tradition projected into the future.” His great pride: his dumplings have become a reference on the menu.

Damien Fournier, a 23-year-old Parisian, opted for this dish. This ” data scientist » “made the detour” via Pont de Collonges with a passing Japanese friend for his first Michelin-starred experience: for him, Bocuse, “synonymous with great French gastronomy” is the first name that comes to mind “at the time of choice .