Behind every great chef, there is a mother and unforgettable little dishes. Five young stars tell the story.
Jean Sulpice, 31, and his mother Marie-Claude
The youngest 2 macarons in France, who hides at an altitude of 2,300 meters, in Val-Thorens, is a chef who flirts with the summits, is wary of show cooking and revisits his heritage with shots of Reblochon! Nothing surprising for his mother, from a family of restaurateurs, who was always keen to see her sons cook “because few young women still know how to do it”. Result: Jean also cooks for his 20-month-old son’s nursery.
Your first memory of cooking with your mother?
Apples, pears, plums, apricots… his seasonal tarts which filled the whole house. It was the scent of happiness!
What did she convey to you?
The love of quality products, the passion for cooking magazines, the secret of Darphin apples served with a crunchy green salad.
What products remind you of your mother?
Potatoes, salt and pepper. In the mountains, with this, you can do almost everything.
Why did you choose this recipe?
My mother ordered her rabbit from a farmer a week in advance. Cooked with liver and vegetables, his dish was tender, tasty, perfect. It reminds me of my childhood spent in the kitchen, the living room.
> The mustard rabbit
L’Oxalys, 73440 Val-Thorens. Such. : 04 79 00 12 00. www.restaurant-loxalys.fr
Alexandre Bourdas, 37, and his mother Marie-Claude
A solid South-West accent, a scrum half silhouette, a passion for Japan, and Sa.Qua.Na, a divine restaurant in Honfleur, which obtained 2 Michelin macaroons in three and a half years… Alexandre Bourdas is a star, with a taste formed by his mother Marie-Claude, a nurse. A lifelong gourmand (his mother remembers that “he purred while eating at 2 years old”!), he admits to being happy to lead the life he dreamed of.
Your first memory of cooking with your mother?
I still have in my mouth the taste of lamb brains with spinach and croutons eaten around 6 years old.
What did she convey to you?
Its rigor and efficiency. Respect for the place in which I work and the love of fresh products. At home, never boxes or frozen foods!
What products remind you of your mother?
Prunes, cold meats (friton, dry sausage, ham), Roquefort which she has already made my granddaughter taste…
Why did you choose this recipe?
Every year at Christmas, my mother would prepare large quantities of ravioli for family and friends. With my father and my brother, we ate three quarters of it before their arrival… She was complaining, but was happy. For me, it is a symbol of his generosity, of his taste for others.
> Prune rissoles
Sa.Qua.Na, 22, place Hamelin, 14600 Honfleur. Such. : 02 31 89 40 80. www.alexandre-bourdas.com
Enrico Bernardo, 33, and his mother Donata
Best sommelier in the world in 2004 and owner of the Il Vino restaurants (in Paris and Courchevel), both awarded 1 Michelin macaron, Enrico Bernardo is above all the son of his mother, an Italian from Basilicata. At 78 years old, nothing scares him! Although she no longer makes her own salamis, Donata still makes the fusilli by hand for her smala and remembers with emotion a little boy who wanted to taste everything. As for Enrico, he admits to using his mother’s recipes every day at home: asparagus and scrambled eggs, potato gnocchi, mussels au gratin…
Your first memory of cooking with your mother?
A slice of toast with tomato-basil sauce as a snack.
What did she convey to you?
The sense of taste, the respect for ingredients… It was also in his presence that I revised my lessons when I was at hotel school.
What products remind you of your mother?
Olive oil from Southern Italy, basil, oregano, tomato, peppers, onion and garlic combination.
Why did you choose this recipe?
Because it’s my favorite pasta and it took me about ten years to succeed in making it myself!
> Fusilli al ragù from Lucano
Il Vino, 13, boulevard de La Tour-Maubourg, Paris-7th. Such. : 01 44 11 72 00. www.ilvinobyenricobernardo.com
Gaël Orieux, 38 years old, and his mother Eliane
How do you become a star chef? By being a diving instructor, he answers… Son of a surgeon and a pharmacist, Gaël grew up not far from the sea before embarking on training as a cook at 18 years old. After a stint at Le Meurice, he opened his restaurant in 2005, in the 7th arrondissement. He pays homage to fish. Logic for the sponsor of the European campaign for responsible fishing, “Mr Goodfish”… A journey influenced by a mother who, between two customers, went back to the kitchen to prepare a roast.
Your first memory of cooking with your mother?
Its gratinated milk eggs with a beautiful caramelized crust. I still offer them from time to time in restaurants.
What did she convey to you?
The taste of the traditional, thanks to local products and gifts from my father’s patients (carrots, turkey, dozen eggs, etc.).
What products remind you of your mother?
Fish cooked whole, poached or roasted; the white butter that always accompanied them; roast free-range chicken.
Why did you choose this recipe?
It’s an everyday dish with a somewhat surprising land-sea combination (ham + fish).
> Baked mackerel
Auguste, 54, rue de Bourgogne, Paris-7e. Such. : 01 45 51 61 09. www.restaurantauguste.fr
Jordi Roca, 31, and his mother Montserrat
Little known here, Jordi is a star in Spain. It must be said that this pastry chef who dreamed of being a plumber was rewarded, with his brothers Joan (cook) and Josep Pitu (sommelier), with 3 Michelin macaroons for their restaurant El Celler de Can Roca, in Girona (ranked 4th restaurant in the world by the British magazine “Restaurant”). At the Rocas, cooking is a family affair, starting with Montserrat, the mother. At 73 years old, this discreet and elegant little lady, champion of Catalan gastronomy, still cooks every day in her tavern for 150 to 200 people. Among them, the entire team of the gourmet restaurant who regularly eats the daily menu… Traditional, simple and tasty dishes.
Your first memory of cooking with your mother?
I always lived in my parents’ tavern. And I remember very well the apron she gave me when I was 12.
What did she convey to you?
Skills that I still use today: how to bind a Catalan cream, how to make a good caramel…
What products remind you of your mother?
The garlic and parsley mixture, which she uses in almost all her dishes.
Why did you choose this recipe?
Because it was my favorite dessert when I was a child!
> Catalan cream
El Celler de Can Roca, Carretera de Taialá, 40, 17007 Girona (Spain). Such. : 00 34 97 22 22 157. www.cellercanroca.com
