In the shivering blue night, the boat purrs on Lake Annecy, drawing silvery ripples in its wake. At the helm, chef Jean Sulpice keeps his eyes smiling, despite the bitter cold. One of his clerks and a college intern, frozen in balls in their fleeces, seem less enthusiastic.
In his Relais & Châteaux Auberge du Père Bise, Jean Sulpice orchestrates the cuisine of three establishments with the energy of a marathon runner: the two-star restaurant bearing his name, the fine restaurant Le Bistrot 1903 and the chic bistro Le Marius Bar. In each of them, fish is at the heart of their cuisine. But not just any: the one that wriggles at the foot of the inn, in this lake of disturbing beauty over which a crimson ring of mountains watches.
The cook points to a flickering light a little further down the wave: “Fisherman Florent Capretti is over there”, he announces. We approach a tiny boat, where a gray form hauls up its nets and diligently picks up the fish caught in the mesh. “I don’t do big peaches, loose the fisherman, laconic. Between ten and sixty takes, which I distribute during the day. »
Jean Sulpice casts a glance at the poles and the féras – a native species – of about fifty centimeters which are agitated in the basins. “These are fish that have long been mistreated in the kitchen, he observes. They ended up being overcooked, drowned in a meunière butter, whereas the féra, with its melting flesh, not very powerful, requires very delicate work. »
At home, it is eaten as a gravlax sprinkled with coriander and dill for breakfast. Fried perchot, pike quenelle, arctic char with spruce butler butter: it is in fresh water that the forty-something thrives. “We had to put the lake on the plate, he believes. But if we leave the choice between langoustine and whitefish, customers stay with what they know. In my starred restaurant, I opted for the single menu in order to defend my products. »
Jean Sulpice is one of those chefs, more and more numerous, who take a fresh and round look at fish. Scaled beasts are popular. According to FranceAgriMer, the French consumed 30.4 kilos on average in 2020, i.e. 10 kilos more than in 2000! New players like Poiscaille, which delivers seafood products on a short circuit, have appeared. And the big hats no longer hesitate to jump into the water.
Christophe Hay, who moved in 2022 to Blois, in a sumptuous complex called Fleur de Loire, continues to weave laurels to aquatic creatures hitherto unloved, such as carp, which splashes at home in a wine sauce of Cheverny, or the catfish, always the victim of a dirty-mouthed offence. In Pas-de-Calais, Alexandre Gauthier is unleashing a Californian wave on the small seaside resort of Merlimont, offering a young, cool and sexy version of the seaside brasserie. His brand new restaurant Sur Mer, whipped up by the foam, looks like an ocean liner where you can try snorkeling in the cream sauce of mussels and fries for 20 euros.
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