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| Japanese chef Tateru Yoshino, from the Stella Maris restaurant near the Arc de Triomphe.  Gaya Rive Gauche , Pierre Gagnaire's latest restaurant , located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. 
| Tourism and Gastronomy PORTRAITS OF CHEFSBenoît Bernard, a true Northener By E. Tresmontant On the occasion of the publication of the Michelin Guide 2006, we decided to find out more about France's new star-rated chefs. After Tateru Yoshino and Pierre Gagnaire, we went to meet the new rising star of the Lille region (north of France), "the ogre" Benoît Bernard. Three years after taking over La Laiterie in Lambersart, he has just been awarded his first star. Itinerary of a prodigal child By dint of observing what goes on behind the ovens, we have realised that there are two types of chef. On one hand there are the introverts, the shy ones who express themselves through their cuisine and mumble bashfully when we go to interview them. On the other there are the "bigmouths", fascinating as much for their presence, colourfulness and the way in which they bring their establishment to life as for their dishes. Benoît Bernard unquestionably falls into the second category! 34 years old, 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 125 kilos: this spiritual grandson of Fernand Point (a giant portrait of whom adorns the dining room at La Laiterie) does not go unnoticed with his dreadlocks, clogs and inseparable Flanders sheepdog, which loves to give visitors a big lick or two. With his booming northern accent, as strong as a Maroilles cheese matured in beer, Benoît is the sort who speaks his mind without a care for political correctness. The prominent figures in the region love it. La Laiterie, set in the chic suburbs of Lille, is thus full every evening, as witnessed by the Jaguars and 4x4s sitting quietly in the car park. An Africa-loving adventurer and inveterate party animal, Benoît has been around the world three times and cooked in places as improbable as Tora Bora, in eastern Afghanistan. In Nice, the great Dominique Le Stanc (La Merenda) taught him the secret of risotto and introduced him to the beauty of popular cuisine, with his courgette fritters, pasta with pesto, and tripe with Parmesan au gratin. Bolstered by these sensory experiences gleaned from the four corners of the world, Benoît then returned to his native north of France. It was at Le 180 bistro in Tourcoing that he began to build a reputation for himself, by offering a stunning menu for under ¤20: "In the Nord-Pas-de-Calais you have to be affordable, otherwise the public won't come!" he growls. Those who sampled it, like the baker from Wattignies, Alex Croquet, all agree: "We had never seen such a sublime shepherd's pie! From one day to the next, his scrambled eggs, fricassee of rabbit, and pan-fried tuna proved that there was a great chef here, in our region, which is known mostly for its beers and chips!" Three years after it was taken over, La Laiterie is the "in" restaurant that "everyone is talking about". An intoxicating but very dangerous situation, which will have to be handled with a cool head! La Laiterie: what you need to know. The contemporary decor - chic but quite neutral - forms a curious contrast with Benoît Bernard's gourmet, generous and instinctive cuisine. He loves cooking as you would go off-piste skiing: depending on the produce and the inspiration of the moment, he will serve up dishes that are not on the menu, like the astonishing calf's head with langoustines or the memorable pig's trotters with lobster, a bizarre meeting of land and sea, which would have met with the approval of Catalan author Montalban! The menu, moreover, is very unpredictable, with the set menus (at ¤38, ¤52 and ¤69) changing every day, depending on the chef's mood. So a word of advice - trust him and let yourself go: you can like it or leave it!  For starters we had cream of Jerusalem artichoke with caviar from Aquitaine. Served Japanese style on a small bamboo table, the roast langoustine with risotto and green asparagus was strikingly simple, served up in its natural state. On the other hand, the veal sweetbreads with morel mushrooms and leek tempura with a slice of culatello (the famous Parma ham) gave us the impression that the chef was still vacillating between two opposing aesthetics: the emotional and tasty bistro cuisine that was at the root of his success in Tourcoing, and a more refined, more "bourgeoise" and "presentable" cuisine.
NB: 1 euro is worth approximately GPB0.69. Photographies : © E. Tresmontant / ViaMichelin In the next edition: portrait of Keisuke Matsushima  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
