Frédéric Duca in 5 dishes

Originally from Marseille, Frédéric Duca spent time in New York and Cannes before arriving in Paris. At the Rooster restaurant, he creates refined, personal cuisine, deeply rooted in his life experiences. He takes us back to five dishes that tell the story of his career.

His signature dish: veal tartare

This has become Rooster's signature dish. "I love working with land-sea combinations. This tartare was born after my years in New York. I ate some incredible, very creative tartars there, and I wanted to create my own."

After several trials, he refined the recipe and anchored it even further south: shredded bottarga, smoked ricotta, garlic and potato chips. The crispness contrasts with the tenderness of the veal, while the tarragon sabayon adds a nice freshness. "This is the starter I haven't changed in four years. Loyal customers are always happy to find it again."

© Ilyafoodstories

His favorite product: squid

"If I go to a restaurant and there's squid on the menu, I can't have anything else," confesses Frédéric Duca. At Rooster, cephalopods are omnipresent. Stuffed with Italian sausage and served with a bouillabaisse sauce, sautéed with preserved lemon, fennel, a tomato and marjoram sauce... the variations are endless.

© Rooster

The dish that reminds her of the South: stuffed zucchini flower

"It really is the star of summer, especially in the south. It reminds me of my years in Cannes", Frédéric Duca tells us. Here, the zucchini flower is stuffed with a fine mixture of line whiting, basil and lobster, topped with a shellfish jus and accompanied by a zucchini pistou. A delicate, fresh bite, just like the chef's cuisine: both precise and generous.

florian Domergue

His signature dish: bouillabaisse

"It's the emblematic dish of Marseille, and it's the taste of my childhood", says the chef, who still remembers his grandmother going to the fish market in the old town.he still remembers his grandmother going to the fish market in the Vieux-Port, then making an "anthology" broth, based on frying rock fish.

At the restaurant, he offers a more refined version, without bones, with separate cooking of the fish to preserve their texture. The service remains faithful to the original conviviality: "I put the dish on the table, everyone helps themselves, and then I pour the broth over the whole thing from the plate in the dining room."

florian Domergue

The dish that respects tradition: hare à la royale

With his passion for game, Frédéric Duca rediscovers every autumn the pleasure of working with venison, pigeon pies... and above all hare à la royale, a legendary dish in French gastronomy."I learned it from Jean-Yves Leuranguer, MOF 96, when we worked together at Fouquet's. I was the second hand whoprepared it . I was the second hand who helped him set it up. Today, I'm having a blast doing it my way."

© Rooster

The chef's version? A ballotine filled with foie gras, punctuated with notes of fresh mint. The visual remains classic, but "the personal touch is in the seasoning". It's a dish he's proud of, and one he judges with accuracy, as a member of the jury for the Hare à la Royale championship for the past three years.