The milky light shaves the glasses on the wooden table. She slipped through the window which overlooks a small garden at rest. It’s winter. Oiseau oiseaux has only been open for a few months, but the room is full: locals, passing Parisians, former clients of Sven Chartier when he was a chef une étoiles à Saturn, in the heart of the capital. He unveiled a gentle sensitivity, sometimes torn apart by unprecedented biases in which the plant had the pride of place.
He was nevertheless trained by Arnaud Daguin, chief agro-activist, and Alain Passard, the maestro of L’Arpège. Everything was cradled by a plethora of natural wines. The business was sold in November 2019 and the chef granted himself a sabbatical year in order to benefit from his family and their country house bought in the Perche. The Covid-19 will have allowed them to refine a project that they did not suspect: to open a restaurant in their new adopted land.
They settle in an old restaurant that they rent from the town hall. They refresh him. Marianne, wife of Sven Chartier, former scriptwriter and TV producer, is reconverted into room manager. Nils, one of the older Chartier brothers, sits above the restaurant and takes care of the wines. A young woman, used to Saturn’s kitchens, assists the chef. Together, they are committed to a simple cuisine built on local products and the know-how of Sven Chartier: a meticulous attention paid to the conflicts of textures and flavors.
The Taste of M
Sven’s prowess
The beef tartare is presented as a bouquet of dried hydrangeas, covered with fried heliantis petals and placed in this same rhizome, blanched and then fried. The crispness of the crisps hits the soft resistance of the red meat, relayed by the melting flesh of the heliantis. Black garlic and almonds are barely noticeable, punctual subtleties hidden by the strength of the chives.
The following pie reveals the technical prowess that Sven Chartier could not shy away from. The dome, both flaky and brioche, is presented cut in half, exposing an orange mosaic in which broccoli takes the lead. Its sweetness mingles with coriander. She bumps into a salad of bitter leaves (watercress, treviso …) seasoned in a fairly classic way (hazelnuts, shallots, chives). The alloy is both simple and deep.
Finally, the dessert recalls the most beautiful flights of Sven Chartier when he was in Paris. Soberly titled Hot Chocolate and Hemp, it’s actually a fairly complex composition in which a hay-smoked chocolate mousse is mixed with a finely salted carob nut crumble. This tender creation tastes of what has vanished and can be reborn at any time. Epiphany is not far away.
The address Oiseau Oiseau, 5, place Saint-Germain, Perche-en-Nocé (Orne). Phone. : 02-33-73-51-24. Open Thursday to Saturday, noon to 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Reservation on bird-bird.fr
The essential dish The hot chocolate and hemp dessert.
The detail that is not Seasonal vegetables placed in incongruous places in the restaurant, like a nod to Alain Passard, who puts them on the tables at L’Arpège.
The bill Around 55 €.
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