Published 4 / 02 / 2020 Reading time: 5 min
86 years of service, 48 years of 3 stars… generations follow one another, prestige and tastes remain. Meeting with César Troisgros, Michel's son, ready to perpetuate the legend of this House, a veritable institution of French cuisine.
When you have a name like Troisgros, are you necessarily predestined to become a cook?
Cesar Troisgros: No, because we have the choice to do what we want. My sister, for example, works in a completely different field. When I was young, I wanted to move towards something else, then I took the time to think, to discuss with those around me and I realized that I liked cooking and that I would like to make it my job. Being born in this universe necessarily gives rise to desires but the evidence was not there, it is a personal choice that I matured late.
In the kitchen, what links you to your ancestors and your father? What sets you apart?
Cesar Troisgros : Troisgros cooks share a sharp palate, linked to a fine education in culinary tastes. We also share the same philosophy of the restaurateur profession: a family spirit that places customer reception at the heart of our approach. As for the "Troisgros style", it has evolved but keeps a common thread: we work with many condiments to offer a cuisine that remains very lively and light. Continuity in perpetual evolution, it's a bit our trademark insofar as we constantly question our cuisine.
What was your course ? What role do you play today within Maison Troisgros?
Cesar Troisgros : Once my decision was made, I started training at a hotel school, at the Institut Paul Bocuse. Then I made my weapons in various renowned establishments. In Paris at Michel Rostang then in Spain in Girona for the Roca brothers, a 3 star among the best restaurants in the world. I have also traveled quite a bit in the United States and Brazil. These experiences are an opportunity to test different working patterns with things to reuse here in France. Proving yourself abroad is a challenge but also the promise of great enrichment. I had planned to leave to work in Japan but the news in Fukushima at that time prevented me from doing so. A situation that led me to find my place perhaps earlier than expected in Maison Troisgros. I started in 2008 in the kitchens of the Colline du Colombier, our establishment in Iguerande. Then I joined the kitchens of Roanne, gained in responsibilities. Today, I am very committed alongside my parents and my father's right arm in the kitchen.
What is your first memory in the kitchen?
Cesar Troisgros : It's quite unusual… I was 4-5 years old and I was fascinated by these cooks who broke up duck carcasses with a flat knife, to make small pieces and then a sauce. On a large board near the pantry, my grandfather made me try it under his watchful gaze and with my hands firmly attached to the knife!
If you are told Roannais, what flavors do you have in mind? What are your favorite places in Roannais?
Cesar Troisgros : I am thinking of Charolais cheese: a goat's cheese made in the region, cylindrical in shape. The interest is that this cheese hides several: fresh, we taste a very soft paste, not very salty; then as it dries, the paste becomes very brittle and the flavors give off a lot of character. We eat it like that, we also include it in recipes. In terms of territory, I really like the Bois Noirs massif, a small mountain range between the valleys of Roanne and Clermont-Ferrand. I like to play sports there or pick mushrooms, it's perfect for taking a breather. As for downtown Roanne, you will find us there, my father and I, every Friday morning early for the market, with our loyal producers.
Maison Troisgros is about to move…
Cesar Troisgros : We leave a few kilometers from Roanne but already in the countryside. Work is in progress and the establishment should open in the spring of 2017. Between a bourgeois mansion, a farm part and a contemporary space, this place will be multiple but coherent. A new site to continue to bring the Troisgros spirit to life and to fully blossom in this House.
