We both grew up in the world of food, each in our own way. For Emilie, whose parents are farmers, it was a childhood in boots, in the fields, with dogs, hunting and game. I am more of an urban dweller, with restaurateur parents of Alsatian origin, accustomed to large, convivial dinners. When they arrived in Paris, my parents first took over the management of the Lucernaire, an art house theater and cinema, in the 6e district, they then opened a dining cellar then a restaurant, rue Christine.
I spent my life in this neighborhood, between Odéon and Saint-Germain. Emilie and I met at the Vatel hotel school. Neither of us really intended to become restaurateurs. But in order not to be separated by leaving to pursue careers abroad, we decided to take over the Christine, which my parents put up for sale in 2003.
Opportunity makes a thief, and for a few months, the two of us ran the bistro. I was in the kitchen, even though I had never had any training as a cook. I offered a short menu, with marbled meats, a good mash, a gratin, a juice. I worked sixteen hours a day, Emilie took care of the service, the sommelier and the accounting.
We quickly hired people because it was working well and we also wanted to develop our DNA in other places. We now have five addresses in Paris [Le Christine, Colvert et Grain[s] in the 6eThe Fools of the Island in the 4eand Chocho in the 10e]all very different, offering great freedom to our chefs. We first called ourselves Les Fous de Bazan, then Les Becs parisiens because it suits us well.
Not here to shoot anything that moves
Game terrine is our favorite fall-winter dish. Every year, around the holidays, we do our “terrine” workshop, with the products of our hunting: pheasant, partridge, rabbit, hare, deer… We live in Yvelines, near the Rambouillet forest, where Emilie grew up, and we go hunting regularly. I had never set foot in the forest before we met.
When we got married, I discovered this world a little scary. I found it hard to believe that one could love nature, animals, birds, and kill them. But, little by little, I understood that hunting, when practiced well, can be a way of participating in the landscape, of maintaining and managing populations of wild animals. We are not here to shoot everything that moves, but to regulate and take samples gently.
Happiness can be coming home with a single woodcock, after having spent three hours in the wild, in the pouring rain, sitting in front of the fire with the dogs, plucking the bird, cooking it. The terrine is also a way to not lose anything and to savor everything. This recipe, brought up to date, comes from Emilie’s “aunt”, the lady who raised her. For our leaders, it is a “pattern terrine” still a little too rustic, but that’s how we love it and share it.