Fantastic gastronomy – “Le Pétrus” with Longo sauce
Photo: Stephane Pierre
Originally from Belfort, Thierry Longo arrived in Gérardmer in 2003. Since then, the chef has never left the kitchens of the Grand HOhtel & Spa de GAndrardmer, including the Petrus, its gastronomic table. Just before the midday shot, you put down your tools for a moment to return to this particular moment which is the Fantastic Film Festival and the galaxy of jurors you take care of with spring onions for a few days.
Thierry Longo admits it immediately: we are no longer in the sumptuous period of Johnny Halliday… Invited to the Fantastic’art festival in 1999, the star had benefited from a sequel created from scratch for him and for the big hOhTelephone she had gone out of her way to welcome him. ” Today it is narrower. Overall we prepare fewer meals. It used to start on Wednesday. Today it is concentrated from Friday to Sunday. What has also changed is that many of our guests are now vegan or vegetarian. We’re more on quinoa than on bœKob eggé or truffle… » However, the chef slips that, despite the facade principles, some do not hesitate to taste the house lobster.
Photo: Stephane Pierre
His best client during the festival is the director of the event himself: Bruno Barde. “I have never seen anyone eat so many truffles in such a short time. Well at the moment he is a vegetarian… No doubt he is overdoing it and has to take periods of semi-fasting… » We cook Thierry Longo so that he reveals some sharp anecdotes about his “best clients” among the jurors. But we are drawing a vacuum. “ There is not too much overflow. So yes, eat expensive products, like caviar for example, but it’s more in wines than it’s in bulk. The Romanée-Conti or the Pétrus, I’m not saying that they are snapped up, but they are good all the same. This is a time when we can freeze stock. We are talking about bottles of 4000 or 5000 euros… » At the mention of a former guest, the PRAndsidentand the jury of the 29th edition, the chef has stars in his eyes, and more than the three that distinguish certain French restaurants. ” Well, what was his name again? François Hollande’s wife… Ah yes, Julie Gayet! So she is a great woman! She came there to be quiet, at a table reserved for our best customers and whose window overlooks the kitchen. She is a beautiful life. She doesn’t despise people. She is nice to everyone. I keep an excellent memory. »
To prepare his dishes, the chef of the Grand Hotel tries as much as possible to work with local producers. ” But we must not forget that we are in the Vosges. If you only want to work locally, this limits you, especially in terms of vegetables. And the problem with small producers is that they often have a similar approach to the artist. In their way of thinking, they want to make a beautiful product. Only that they are not traders and that they work on small quantities… But the Grand Hotel needs larger quantities. I recently faced this problem with a guy who s‘is launched into the starsShrimp in red legs of the cotis from Bourbonne-les-bains, but who could only give me five kilos. Or to another who grew endive in Thiéfosse. They were magnificent. Only I’ve only had one once… The one who does well is Richard Thierry, who sells saffron. He understood that it was necessary to be a little commercial. » Leaving at the age of 15 to work on the Côte d’Azur, Thierry Longo is a great lover of vegetables, especially courgette flowers, “when they’re open, not like here where it’s been a long time since they’ve seen the sun”. This lover of “simple products” confesses a passion for eels and artichokes. And for the old Porto. Not what we serve as an aperitif, what accompanies the dishes. Also recommends to taste the Château La Lagune – Cos d’Estournel. ” This is the best! And it’s not the most expensive… »
Heading twenty people when the team is full, the chef loves his job. A profession on the rise with the plethora of television broadcasts dedicated to the culinary arts. ” That’s okay because it does some advertising for the hotel industry, but these programs are biased. The first day you can’t peel an onion, and after three days, you’re making macarons! The reality should still be shown… The kids arrive in hotel management schools and immediately want to season their dishes with luxury products. No, you have to learn the basics first! » Thierry Longo concludes the interview lucidly. ” You know, we cook, we only work with products that people have already worked on upstream. We don’t save lives – we just eat. Then we let it go back in his stoves. The festival photocall ended a few minutes ago and the jury members will arrive soon. We don’t know which of the declared vegans will succumb to the temptation of the homemade lobster…
Anatole BETANCOURT
Originally from Belfort, Thierry Longo arrived in Gérardmer in 2003. Since then, the chef has never left the kitchens of the Grand HOhtel & Spa de GAndrardmer, including the Petrus, its gastronomic table. Just before the midday shot, you put down your tools for a moment to return to this particular moment which is the Fantastic Film Festival and the galaxy of jurors you take care of with spring onions for a few days.
Thierry Longo admits it immediately: we are no longer in the sumptuous period of Johnny Halliday… Invited to the Fantastic’art festival in 1999, the star had benefited from a sequel created from scratch for him and for the big hOhTelephone she had gone out of her way to welcome him. ” Today it is narrower. Overall we prepare fewer meals. It used to start on Wednesday. Today it is concentrated from Friday to Sunday. What has also changed is that many of our guests are now vegan or vegetarian. We’re more on quinoa than on bœKob eggé or truffle… » However, the chef slips that, despite the facade principles, some do not hesitate to taste the house lobster.
His best client during the festival is the director of the event himself: Bruno Barde. “I have never seen anyone eat so many truffles in such a short time. Well at the moment he is a vegetarian… No doubt he is overdoing it and has to take periods of semi-fasting… » We cook Thierry Longo so that he reveals some sharp anecdotes about his “best clients” among the jurors. But we are drawing a vacuum. “ There is not too much overflow. So yes, eat expensive products, like caviar for example, but it’s more in wines than it’s in bulk. The Romanée-Conti or the Pétrus, I’m not saying that they are snapped up, but they are good all the same. This is a time when we can freeze stock. We are talking about bottles of 4000 or 5000 euros… » At the mention of a former guest, the PRAndsidentand the jury of the 29th edition, the chef has stars in his eyes, and more than the three that distinguish certain French restaurants. ” Well, what was his name again? François Hollande’s wife… Ah yes, Julie Gayet! So she is she is a great woman! She came there to be quiet, at a table reserved for our best customers and whose window overlooks the kitchen. She is a beautiful life. She doesn’t despise people. She is nice to everyone. I have an excellent memory. »
To prepare his dishes, the chef of the Grand Hotel tries as much as possible to work with local producers. ” But we must not forget that we are in the Vosges. If you only want to work locally, this limits you, especially in terms of vegetables. And the problem with small producers is that they often have a similar approach to the artist. In their way of thinking, they want to make a beautiful product. Only that they are not traders and that they work on small quantities… But the Grand Hotel needs larger quantities. I recently faced this problem with a guy who s‘is launched into the starsShrimp in red legs of the cotis from Bourbonne-les-bains, but who could only give me five kilos. Or to another who grew endive in Thiéfosse. They were magnificent. Only I’ve only had one once… The one who does well is Richard Thierry, who sells saffron. He understood that it was necessary to be a little commercial. » Leaving at the age of 15 to work on the Côte d’Azur, Thierry Longo is a great lover of vegetables, especially courgette flowers, “when they’re open, not like here where it’s been a long time since they’ve seen the sun”. This lover of “simple products” confesses a passion for eels and artichokes. And for the old Porto. Not what we serve as an aperitif, what accompanies the dishes. Also recommends to taste the Château La Lagune – Cos d’Estournel. ” This is the best! And it’s not the most expensive… »
Heading twenty people when the team is full, the chef loves his job. A profession on the rise with the plethora of television broadcasts dedicated to the culinary arts. ” That’s okay because it does some advertising for the hotel industry, but these programs are biased. The first day you can’t peel an onion, and after three days, you’re making macarons! The reality should still be shown… The kids arrive in hotel management schools and immediately want to season their dishes with luxury products. No, you have to learn the basics first! » Thierry Longo concludes the interview lucidly. ” You know, we cook, we only work with products that people have already worked on upstream. We don’t save lives – we just eat. Then we let it go back in his stoves. The festival photocall ended a few minutes ago and the jury members will arrive soon. We don’t know which of the declared vegans will succumb to the temptation of the homemade lobster…
Anatole BETANCOURT
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