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Weihnachten 2001 Annamarie und Bruno
Auf einem kleinen Hügel umgeben von Rebbergen und Olivenhainen liegt das charmante Hameau. Bruno genannt "le roi de la Truffes" ein wahres lebendes "Monument" 1.95m gross und ungefähr 150kg schwer, je nach Saison etwas mehr oder weniger. Ein Essen bei Bruno ist wirklich einmalig und bleibt absolut unvergesslich. Bruno ein wahrer "amoureux-fou de la truffe" und er lässt uns daran teilhaben. Geniessen wir es Minute um Minute, Stunde um Stunde.
Visitors to the French Riviera are drawn to this legendary region for several reasons: glitz and glamour, nightlife, fortunes won and lost in casinos, weather, the azure Mediterranean sea, and of course, the food. In a country where the acquisition, preparation, and consumption of food is synonymous with life itself, the cuisine of the Mediterranean has become justifiably famous in recent years.
However, those who fail to venture a small distance away from the Côte d'Azur are missing a secret gem of discovery waiting just inland: the small villages of Provence and their hearty and unpretentious cuisine. In contrast to their flashy cousins only a few kilometers seaward, the restaurateurs and chefs of Provence are directed by the offerings of nature, and their creations reflect the mysterious bounty which nature provides.
Perhaps no other chef typifies the marriage between land and cuisine and the desire to share the edible secrets of nature better than Clement Bruno who welcomes guests daily to his restaurant. Chez Bruno is located near Lorgues, about 100 km from Nice. With only a tiny sign on the road and a distant mural on a farmhouse beyond a field of grapevines, there is little to alert passersby of the magic created in his kitchen.
This is a destination, and chef Bruno has little trouble filling his tables for 6 course fix priced lunch and dinner offerings. There are many reasons for the popularity of Chez Bruno; glorious setting, exceptional service, and creative dishes emphasizing absolutely fresh ingredients from local suppliers. But a single element of his culinary creations, more than anything else, is responsible for captivating his diners: truffles.
This wildly expensive subterranean fungus, which is found locally, is the object of more lore and mystery than any other single foodstuff in the world. It is the centerpiece of most of Bruno's dishes. Whereas other restaurateurs use truffles in minute quantities while raising prices liberally, Bruno often forms entire dishes around whole truffles. Indeed, sometimes it is difficult to see the other ingredients under the mound of exquisitely pungent truffle slices. Despite his most liberal use of the world's most expensive food - with its pungent nose and earthy taste - the flavors and textures, remarkably, always meld together in perfect harmony with the other components of the dish.
Using more than 1000 kilograms of truffles annually, Bruno is almost certainly unequaled in this respect by any other restaurant on the planet. In fact, an American - and possibly even a Frenchmen - eating at Chez Bruno will probably consume more truffles in one 3-hour lunch than he will consume during the remaining years of his life. After having the pleasure of dining at Chez Bruno six times in the last two years, we are struck by his amazing consistency. His dishes are consistently creative and of the highest quality - no small feat! We have never left feeling disappointed.
Watching Bruno introduce his menu du jour to each diner and seeing him mingle with his guests throughout most of the meal with his wry humor and immense presence, it is impossible not to be struck by these two things: 1) he absolutely and unconditionally loves what he is doing, and 2) he is a showman... the dining room is his stage. There he seeks the adoration and admiration of his guests, which he richly deserves. These elements are amply reflected in his cooking and the purity of its message. Perhaps his own words can best describe his milieu:
"Cooking carries a message of love, of sentiment, of nostalgia, and when I am in the kitchen, I always think of the person in my dining room who receives my message. I feel a moral responsibility to the people I cook for. In any case, I am only an apprentice, a perpetrator of traditions, an artisan who doubts himself every minute. I am never sure what I cook is good. My duty is always to learn something new - you know the saying: 'Every day bring a stone in the construction of the temple.' Speak of humanism and you speak of solidarity. That was my grandmother's message and it's what good cooking is all about."
Indeed!
Chez Bruno
This website is a tribute to Clement Bruno. zurück Copyright © 2001 Fusing and Tiffany by Annamarie Buechler Stand: 04. Dezember 2009 |