Portraits of leaders. Victor Mercier, for food sovereignty

For his restaurant, FIEF, in Paris, Victor Mercier has just won a star and been crowned “Young chef of the year”. A signature author, who only offers French products.

No need to import. This is demonstrated every day by this talented boy, barely thirty years old, who came to the kitchen almost by chance. Victor Mercier discovered a profession and a universe that quickly fascinated him during a meal at the Michelin-starred restaurant in the Bois de Boulogne, The Great Waterfall,

It is also true that his dad, a Gault&Millau advertiser, always spoke to him emotionally about chefs. In 2018, Victor Mercier reached the final of Top chef, almost in tears. A year later, solid as a rock, he finds himself at the helm of his new ship, this FIEF restaurant.

From the start, the young man decided to be committed and to respect the planet. French products, but an inspiration from elsewhere, because Victor traveled with a friend around the world to meet those who defend a reasoned cuisine, and he made a film about it. For themto be found on the Internet.

And here, for you, is an illustration of this food sovereignty with French products, around beetroot, raspberry and spruce.

Ingredients for two :

1 beetroot, eight raspberries, spruce thorns, white spirit vinegar, sugar, 10 g of butter, Fleur de sel, white pansy petals, pink daisy petals.

Preparation :

Prepare the “1-2-3” vinegar by mixing 3 volumes of water, 2 volumes of vinegar and 1 volume of sugar. Boil and pour over the spruce thorns. You can prepare a whole jar and keep it for regular use as a condiment (like pickles).

Cook the beetroot in salted water, peel it and cut it into small quarters. Let it cool.

In a saucepan put the pieces of beets and add 2 to 3 tablespoons of “1-2-3” vinegar. Heat over high heat, add the butter, and glaze (sprinkle the beets with the sauce from the pan). Leave to cook for barely a minute, while glazing.

Add 4 raspberries to the still hot pan, just to cool them down. Frost everything together. Pour a small pinch of Fleur de sel.

On each plate, place pieces of beets and two warm raspberries. Add two raw raspberries, for texture, and two spruce thorns marinated in vinegar. Decorate with a few flowers (white pansy and pink daisy petals).

You can enjoy with yogurt.