Today, we take you to meet Sylvain Joffre, Chef of the restaurant En Pleine Nature and his team. A Chef close to local cuisine and good products, in a hidden corner of nature in the heart of Quint-Fonsegrives. Discover his career and his cuisine, as well as a seasonal recipe with Maison Henras summer truffles (tuber aestivum).
THE CHEF'S JOURNEY
Sylvain Joffre began his culinary career with a classic catering training course in the city of Toulouse.
The rest of his training directed him to Soulliac where he completed his internship with Michel Bras, a decisive moment in his career. Michel Bras is a three-star chef, currently at the head of the restaurant "le Suquet" in Laguiole. He will stay 5 years at Les Bras, during which time he will refine his training. Sylvain tells us that he is still very attached to this family today, "mentor" in his initiatory journey as a Chef, and that he is still in contact with them to this day.
He then took over a business with his brother, Mas de Dardagna, also a client of Maison Henras, where he spent another 5 good years. At the age of thirty, Sylvain decides that he needs to fly on his own and opens his restaurant in the heart of nature in Quint Fonsegrives.
Thus, since 2011, Sylvain officiates in the restaurant En Pleine Nature and all his work around seasonal products allowed him to obtain… a star in the Michelin guide in 2014.
THE FRAMEWORK
In 2011, Sylvain acquired a sports hall in Quint-Fonsegrives. He is renovating and transforming the space into a charming, modern restaurant with its unique tables and decoration, as well as its pleasant, bright veranda. It also retains an authentic side with its typical briquettes, for an architecture combining tradition and modernity. The restaurant also offers a magnificent little shaded terrace in a quiet area.
“When I visited this place, I had no hesitation. This building fulfilled all the characteristics I was looking for. It really was the right place at the right time! I didn't want to set up in the city center, but I wanted to stay close to the clientele, a restaurant on the outskirts, so it was ideal. »
To date, the success of the restaurant allows it to accommodate around thirty covers per service.
En Pleine Nature is the restaurant, the bakery and the cellar which arrived later, brought together in the same environment.
The bakery offers organic and quality products and the wine cellar has many references, in order to offer the perfect support to its customers.
HIS KITCHEN
The Chef draws his inspiration from nature and expresses a certain freedom in the creation of his dishes. Sylvain Joffre creates a cuisine as close as possible to the seasons. His leitmotif is to offer the best of what nature has to offer when he creates his recipes. For this, he constantly adapts his cuisine to seasonal products. The consistency of his cuisine translates into subtle combinations that magnify seasonal products to surprise the palate. He therefore offers a cuisine with marked tastes and more importantly, a striking cuisine. His bet is successful, you can discover audacious formulas on the website “ En Pleine Nature ”
The chef offers two lunch menus and three in the evening.
HIS AMBITION
Sylvain Joffre is above all a creator-cook passionate about flavors and respectful of all that Nature has to offer. Artisan inventor of original marriages, his goal is to delight the taste buds, to surprise, and to work daily alongside his second, Joël and his dedicated team.
He also recently published a book, "In the skin of a great Chef", which retraces the journey of the passionate and committed Chef. It describes the daily life of a cook and is accessible to young and old! Recipes, products, newspapers, anecdotes, tips, a tasty and complete book.
ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TRUFFLE
Truffles are a product highly appreciated by Sylvain. He particularly likes it because it is a product that he works with throughout the year according to the seasons, starting with the summer truffle in the spring, switching to the Burgundy truffle in the fall, and obviously ending with the black truffle at the end of the year, jewels of French gastronomy.
“The Burgundy truffle is little used in gastronomy, but I like to work with it for its more pronounced taste than the summer truffle. »
The Chef has always been passionate about mushrooms. Indeed, he roams the woods all year round as soon as he has a minute. Moreover, during our visit, we observed him cooking beautiful summer porcini mushrooms from his personal picking. The truffle is therefore obvious to him, but he remains very keen on quality and provenance.
Every winter, he works the black truffle (tuber melanosporum), always looking for a local source. In season, it offers a menu entirely dedicated to truffles from appetizer to dessert. Sylvain Joffre also appreciates the use of truffles for dessert.
“Sugar is a very good black truffle flavor enhancer”
RECIPE
Sylvain and his second Joël suggested that we make the recipe that they are currently displaying on the menu, “Le dish du potager”.
It is a new potato hollowed out and stuffed with sweet onions, chopped pig's trotters and porcini mushrooms freshly picked by the Chef, placed on a white wine, truffle and potato sauce. The stuffed potato is covered with a gravy and a summer truffle tapenade, a preparation of grated and heated summer truffle, olive oil and fresh olive puree. This recipe is inspired by the Chef's friends, Geneviève and Emmanuel, who knew how to bring out the taste of summer truffles.
“The summer truffle is a product that often has a weak taste, especially at the start of the season. I realized thanks to my friends that once grated, and left slightly oxidized, it develops more intense and pleasant aromas and flavors. »
Finally, the plate is covered with homemade potato crisps, Maison Henras summer truffle shavings and marjoram.
THE STEPS :
The new potatoes are cooked at a low temperature, so as not to weaken the product and make the rest of the preparation easier. They are hollowed out using a Parisian spoon, then stuffed with a preparation of minced pig's trotters, sweet onions and summer porcini mushrooms.
The potato is then caramelized in butter in a frying pan on the stuffed side, in order to obtain a crispy side.
During this time, make the summer truffle tapenade. The chef grates the summer truffle using a grater making shavings, then slightly oxidizing the truffle. This step allows it to reveal a taste of undergrowth, initially absent in the summer truffle.
“That's my trick, because at the start of the season, when the truffle tastes too light, it's an effective way to reveal its taste. »
“On the other hand, I don't like grating black truffles with this type of grater, because it heats up the product and alters the real taste of the black truffle. »
The shavings of summer truffles are mixed with olive oil, then he adds a hint of fresh olive puree, and salt to obtain the consistency of a spreadable paste.
For the dressing, the stuffed potato is placed on a white wine, summer truffle and potato sauce. The Chef then lays down a gravy to cover the stuffing, then spreads the tapenade over it. A sprig of marjoram with a very oregano side is added then a homemade potato chip for a crispy side.
The potato is in all its states: in sauce, steamed or in chips. The Chef then grates shavings of fresh summer truffles to finalize the preparation.
6 Pl. de la Mairie, 31130 Quint-Fonsegrives
Sylvain Joffre
INGREDIENTS :
- Fresh summer truffle Maison Henras
- new potatoes
- Pigs foot
- sweet onions
- Summer ceps
- Meat juice
- Olive oil
- Puree of fresh olives