Jean-François Piège embarks on a Tour de France des Territoires at the Grand Restaurant

In his Grand Restaurant (5 toques), Jean-François Piège draws inspiration from French products and their territories to create a menu that brings together our country's finest gustatory treasures. Since May 2024, the chef has been taking the experience one step further by offering a Tour de France des Territoires and Mijotés Modernes, his signature cooking, focusing on one region in particular.

Jean-François Piè;ge's new chapter begins in Brittany, almost ten years after opening his own restaurant. The chef tells us more about his desire to highlight the work of local producers.

How did you come up with the idea of offering a Tour de France des Territoires et des Mijotés Modernes?

Jean-François Piège: The idea of embracing this vision of cuisine was born just after Covid. I stopped offering à la carte dishes and started offering different menus, in which I combine my inspiration, my desires and the origin of the ingredients. But it wasn't until May 2024 that I decided to focus on a specific region.

The first region to be celebrated is Brittany. Why was that?

J-F.P. : I didn't want to highlight one region more than another. It all came about through a meeting with a Breton tea producer who first approached me, whom I called back and then met. I tasted his products and thought it was crazy! I then realized that a lot of exceptional ingredients come from Brittany, so I wanted to put my various discoveries forward. These people, who do a fantastic job, deserve to be discovered! As chefs, we have a role to play in passing on information.

What dish did you imagine to go with this Breton tea?

J-F.P.: It's a 100% Breton recipe with lobster, seaweed and tea. The communion of elements is perfect.

Conversely, other dishes combine Breton products with those from other regions...

J-F.P.: Absolutely. This is the case, for example, with Oignon de Roscoff au four, married to a Grossane olive pailleté (Provence). Once again, it's a question of encounters, between me and a producer, but also two products of different origins. I have a restaurant in Gordes where I was lucky enough to meet Raymond Confond, who produces very fruity olives and magnificent oils. At the Grand Restaurant, we freeze this olive and cut it into flakes, before serving it on an onion. Each ingredient has a story to tell. That's the basis of my work. And sometimes it leads to opposites, like this onion from Brittany and this olive from Provence. As an anecdote, this dish is tasted in the kitchen by the customers to create a real interaction.

Alongside these well-known products, you'll also find a number of specialties not often found outside Brittany, such as gwell. How did you discover it?

J-F.P.: When I visit a region or a country, my wish is to meet those who have a real know-how, so that they can teach me. After forty years in the trade, I have a pretty broad knowledge of what you can find in France. I remember discovering gwell, the chunky milk from Brittany's Pie Noire cow, thanks to Jacques Thorel. In this menu, we developed a recipe to highlight the great finesse and purity of this product, with a frosted Gwell and a Reinette d'Armorique reduction.

Do you already know which other region you'd like to highlight in the coming months?

J-F.P.: Not at the moment. I'll decide on the basis of an encounter or a product that strikes a chord with me. It's not my intention to do every region at all costs. The creative aspect will always prevail.

Next year, Le Grand Restaurant celebrates its tenth anniversary. What are you planning to celebrate?

J-F.P.: We're going to try and have some fun around the anniversary, notably by preparing a book that traces the evolution of the restaurant over the last ten years. I'm also preparing a book on the Tour de France des Territoires, because unfortunately, some local cuisines are like dead languages that are no longer practiced. I hope, in my own small way, to revive them by promoting them.