Two-star Michelin French chef Patrick Jeffroy, a firm advocator of locally sourced seafood, won the prize for best seafood cookbook for “Faim de mer en fin de terre” at the Cookbook Fair in Paris earlier this month. More than a collection of recipes, the book is “a homage to all the artisan producers I’ve worked with over the decades,” he told SeafoodSource.
From L’hôtel de Carantec, his Brittany-based hotel-restaurant that perches over the sea, Patrick Jeffroy underlined his attachment to seasonal produce and sustainable seafood.
Partos: Why did you write “Faim de mer en fin de terre,” which published at the end of 2010?
Jeffroy: Since a child I have been cradled in seafood. I was brought up in a town by the sea in Brittany, and we lived near the marketplace. I would see the local fishermen bringing their goods to market. I remember one lady whose stall, and the fish she sold, was a tangible sign of the seasons. I have always upheld local artisanal food and admired local producers. In the restaurant, seafood represents up to 75 percent of the menu. I wanted to pay homage to these people. There are fishermen who gather scallops, or go to sea for days at a time, returning with crabs. There’s a seaweed fisherman who collects and preserves his seaweed in salt. All these people I have known and worked with for a long time.
The book took over two years to write, and moved forward with the seasons. The recipes are a mixture of old and new; for example, my whelk with peas recipe is 22 years old or my “gateau de sardine” I have prepared for over 20 years.
When did you start cooking?
Since 1979 I have headed up kitchens. Before then, from 1973 to 1978, I was lucky enough to work at a restaurant in Carantec [the town of his current hotel-restaurant] where fish were delivered to the restaurant kitchen literally straight off the fishing boats, in a wheelbarrow covered with damp potato sacking. From this experience, and thanks to such proximity to the fishing industry, I learnt to recognize how a fish was fished, by trawler, net or line. And I can even tell if the fish was caught at night or during the day.
I’ve run my hotel and restaurant at Carantec for over 10 years, buying my seafood from a range of people, including fishermen and wholesalers.
What is the hardest part of cooking fish?
Getting the length of cooking time right is the trickiest part of preparing fish. Overcooked, the fish becomes dry. But, of course, filleting and boning a fish is also more complicated; it’s a technique.
What is France’s relationship with seafood?
Fish is popular with the French, and the traditionally expensive fish, such as sole and turbot, are still sought after. Seafood such as clams, mussels and oysters are also consumed, but seafood does involve work, particularly compared to other foods, which might also be cheaper. The younger generation today are less attracted by foods that involve work. It’s not that they’re not interested, but more that those other foods are doing everything they can to encourage the younger generation to forget about foods that demand more effort.
How do you perceive Europe’s approach to managing fisheries?
I think there should be many, many more rules. Fishing today is full of errors. We let boats fish in reproductive sites, for example. There are fishermen that fish from 1 January to 31 December, and who go fishing for absolutely any species.
Another example is in labeling. In the interests of transparency and visibility, fishmongers must label the origins of all the fish on their counters, whether wild or farmed. Restaurateurs, however, can buy farmed or wild fish and are not obliged to write on the menu the origins of the fish. How is that coherent? In other words, I buy wild turbot, which is expensive, and that could cost EUR 35 a kilo, which would be translated into the final menu price. But another chef might buy farmed turbot at EUR 15, and could therefore serve the fish at a considerably reduced price to mine. How does that look to the consumer? They don’t know one is farmed and the other wild. I think we should be obliged to put the origins of all our fish on the menus.
I hear you cooked for culinary legend Julia Child.
Yes, I was lucky enough to cook three times for Julia Child. She was an extraordinary and marvelous lady. A chef-friend of mine, Michel Richard, had the idea of celebrating her 80th birthday. The event was huge, with many different chefs and people, and I participated. The second occasion was for a meal in Malibu, and for third event I prepared light foods for a little do for Julia in Paris. I remember one of the dishes was my “gateau de sardines,” which she said she really enjoyed.
