Un pâtissier, un artiste: a collab

Once upon a time, Fabien Rouillard and Victor Hugo. With the help of Gérard Audinet, director of Les Maisons de Victor Hugo, the pastry chef and proud owner of the emblematic Maison Mulot in Paris, immersed himself in the world of this fabulous writer and avant-garde designer and decorator. He was immediately captivated by the creativity, strong convictions and incredible imagination of a man who had taken refuge in Guernsey. His conversations with Gérard Audinet gave rise to the idea of a daring sweet collaboration at Café Mulot, located on the first floor of the writer's Parisian home.

For this latest episode, Gault&Millau continues its gourmet exchanges, bringing together two centuries, two worlds and two artists for an ephemeral cake in tribute to Victor Hugo's daughter Léopoldine.

Gault&Millau: Is this your first collaboration with another world?

Fabien Rouillard: My first dates back to the late 1990s, when I was head pastry chef at Lucas Carton and worked with painter Mark Alsterlind. We got together around the material chocolate and its texture, reminiscent of gouache. This led to the idea of creating chocolate paintings and the "Eat the Paint" concept. This exciting collaboration prepared me for what's to come.

Gérard Audinet: We do it often. It allows us to take a trip into another world. One of the most memorable was last year, when actress Christine Guênon came to declaim thousands of verses from La Fin de Satan. An original experience in which the museum was transformed into a theater stage, for a total immersion in the world of Victor Hugo. The association with Fabien is a first in the world of patisserie.

G&M: How did your meeting come about?

F. R.: I took part in a call for tenders organized by Paris Musées to reinvest the first floor of the Maison de Victor Hugo on Place des Vosges. During an audition with Gérard, my passion and my desire to perpetuate Gérard Mulot's work while adding my own distinctive touch were the starting point for this unique collaboration.

G. A.: My first meeting with Fabien was a professional one, as he was applying to take over the café, a space we had restored not far from the Serpent Fountain. When I saw him for the first time, it took me back years, to when I was working on Rue de Tournon and buying macaroons at Mulot. The way Fabien talked to me about his job and the company, his discretion and sincere passion, the quality of his language and his love for the artistic dimension touched me.

G&M: How did you go about imagining this collaboration?

F. R.: I organized a free conversation between my friend Bénédict Beaugé, a food writer, Gérard Audinet and myself. We got together to share Victor Hugo's work without limits. When I took over this place, I didn't just want to set up a café. I'm very attached to the history of a house, and I always seek to perpetuate it by adding value. Victor Hugo's sketchbooks were initially used to create the café's quadriptych, signed by Alexandre and Florentine Lamarche-Ovize, followed by my ephemeral dessert, a tribute to Léopoldine.

G. A.: We don't have much documentation on Victor Hugo à table, and some of it is contradictory. When we discussed the idea of making a pastry, I thought of Léopoldine, whose memory is very present in the house. Fabien was seduced, and was inspired in particular by the tones of Léopoldine's portrait hanging in the red salon. She wears a red dress with black polka dots and sits on a white tapestry armchair, a flower in her hair. The dessert reflects the harmonious colors of the painting and the delicacy of the writer's daughter.

G&M: What's so special about these collaborations?

F. R.: Working in the Maison de Victor Hugo and bringing the place back to life, while paying tribute to the artist, can only be unique. It required a great deal of research and regular exchanges with Gérard, enabling me to slip into the writer's world.

G. A.: I rediscovered the attention to detail that Fabien told me about when we first met. He pays particular attention to materials. There's no plastic, everything is eco-responsible. Setting up the café in the very heart of the establishment has given this house a new lease of life. The apartment is 280 m2 and we're a small museum. People used to come and go. Today, they sit in the café!

G&M: Collaboration, freedom or constraint?

F. R.: Freedom. It's all about openness and exchange. We always come together around an element that serves as a starting point for the imagination. Here, Victor Hugo's drawings and Léopoldine's portrait were my source of inspiration for the creation of this dessert. I thought of it as a tribute. I wanted it to be elegant and delicate, but also spicy and ephemeral, to echo the young woman's life. So I chose wild strawberries, which are only in season for a short time, and strawberries, vanilla, rose petals and a raw and cooked lemon confit to give the refinement of the red berries some pizzazz.

G. A.: There are necessarily constraints. As a museum, we have image and security imperatives. But we have to try to keep as much freedom as possible for both, and in this project, we worked intelligently. Fabien and I talked a lot about Victor Hugo's life. As a result, he was able to imagine the café and its menu as he wished, while respecting the codes of the place.

G&M: How did you work together?

F. R.: I started with the existing writings and drawings, then let my creativity take over. When we tasted the cake, it was Léopoldine's cake. It all came together very naturally and fluidly.

G. A.: We often exchange ideas and projects, just as we did with the cake. In the spring, we may even relaunch Les Causeries à l'heure du thé, one Thursday a month, where I tell a story about the museum while enjoying a pastry.

G&M: Are there any impossible collaborations?

F. R.: Certainly. When we don't share each other's values, for example. But, in general, we always find ourselves on open ground. In that respect, these collaborations are extremely enriching.

G. A.: If it's a question of maintaining our neutrality as a museum, yes. But we can go very far. For example, we hosted a strolling show. Students from the Cours Florent created a highly offbeat adaptation of Le Roi s'amuse. They were dressed very scantily, to match the play's erotic ardor, and it worked tremendously well!

Café Mulot - Maison de Victor Hugo

6, place des Vosges, 75004 Paris