“Before bread became established, porridge was eaten in all regions of France. And in very different forms, even if the base was always the same: a cereal cooked in water, which swells thanks to the starch, with a slightly sticky texture. I love it, porridge reminds me of comfort and satiety. Not a childhood memory, rather a dish that has accompanied me into my adult life. In the form of a bowl of oatmeal porridge with fruit when I lived alone in the United States. Vegetable risotto when I started cooking for my friends. In my book Cereals [Flammarion, 2022]I present a congee version [un porridge asiatique]with rice cooked in broth.
I obviously wanted to offer it in the restaurant, but I realized that it was difficult with guests who do not eat at the same time: a porridge cannot be anticipated, it must be served immediately to let it be good. I ended up finding the solution by mixing overcooked rice with cooking water: it gives a smooth and binding cream, which I then mix with rice and broth. This is the neutral base to which I add different ingredients depending on the season.
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I served my first porridge during my residency at Perchoir Ménilmontant [à Paris en 2022], in spring, with peas. While we offered it in a gourmet menu alongside other more refined dishes, customers told us: “It’s our favorite dish, it’s magical!” At Datil, we gave it to the dining room team. Instead of “yes, it’s good”, they told us: “It’s been a long time since we’ve had emotion like that.”
“The power of gentleness”
Currently, we offer it with celery root broth, shiitake marinated in a dried mushroom broth, pickled chanterelles, shallot breadcrumbs. We also make a little sauce with celery and lemon. Below, we place an almond cream with parsley. We work a lot in layers, I kept that from Pascal Barbot, who seasoned dishes with hidden elements, to create surprises.
I find it great to have this porridge which provides structure, satiation and comfort within a menu that is very plant-based. We think about the environmental impact of the products we use, and sometimes we don’t serve meat at all, just a little fish. All our products are French and we have built a very strong relationship with two market gardeners in Ile-de-France, who send us a list of available foods every week, and we base our menus on that. Sometimes it is necessary to do a little education with customers who find that “It’s expensive for vegetables”. I invite them to come and see all the work in the kitchen. When we say “porridge”, we think “poor man’s cooking”, but it requires much more labor than putting a piece of fish on the plate.
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