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A few words about the restaurant

In Clochemerle (or Vaux-en-Beaujolais…) people come to discover the site that inspired Gabriel Chevalier as well as Romain and Delphine Barthe’s wonderful gourmet restaurant L’auberge de Clochemerle. As in every village, things tend to change, and one day the couple heard the former town hall was looking for a new purpose in life! The restaurant owners took the challenge and opened L’Echanson, putting Baptiste Fernandez in charge.

The only obligation mandated by the Town Hall: preserve regional native Allain Renoux’s frescoes that adorn the former wedding hall. Delphine and Romain also decided to keep the period tiles intact, whose design inspired their logo.

The idea: a chic, friendly restaurant with a focus on the village, local products and a wine list solely devoted to Beaujolais wines – all appellations – and different growers every month.

A words about you

Baptiste is a local, like the produce. “Together, Romain and I serve dishes made with excellent local produce, in a laid-back, generous and welcoming atmosphere. Here, friendliness is in the dish as well as in the atmosphere. It isn’t uncommon to see tables of 2 that become tables of 4, 6 or 10 as the meal and conversations with nearby tables progress. Our signature dish ‘La Potence’ is one of the best examples of that.”

An anecdote (or two) from behind the scenes

“At the end of a midday meal, a couple of tourists were undecided about what to taste next. They still had a little room for…. a savoury surprise! Yes, a surprise, since even though the cheese platter was wonderfully stocked with local produce, the tourists felt like something else. A challenge that Baptiste was delighted to take up. He whipped up some faisselle cheese seasoned with mustard powder, Sichuan pepper and chopped flat-leaf parsley… Surprised and enchanted, those two tourists returned the very same evening. For that matter, they come back regularly every time they’re in the area.”

A signature dish 

“Without a doubt ‘La Potence’ is our convivial signature dish that brings out the friendliness and originality in the tradition. The beef from the Saint-Etienne-des-Oullières butcher shop is flambéed with Beaujolais marc.

And our signature dessert is the ‘Dariole au chocolat’, a chocolate fondant that Romain learned how to make when he was working at Trois Gros.”

A beaujolais wine-and-food pairing

“An andouillette sausage from Braillon’s (Villefranche-sur-Saône), made exclusively of calf’s ruffle and accompanied by young vegetables with a Moulin-à-vent wine from David Large’s Lieu-dit Rochenoire; an easy-to-drink, fruity cuvée that’s not too tannic to enhance the grilled taste of the andouillette.”

One of your “favourite” winegrowers and why

“One? No, several. Every month a different one. In July, it’ll be David Large. He, the chef and I are all practically the same age. He’s a good friend who shares my values. As neighbours, since David lives a stone’s throw from the restaurant, we like to talk about Beaujolais wines, his vintages and reinventing the world… but I’m also really fond of the vintages produced by Yannick de Vermont (Château de Vaux) and Jean Luc Longère (Domaine Longère), to name but a few.”

A few words about your restaurant

From his restaurant Substrat located in Lyon’s Croix Rousse neighbourhood to Food Traboule and including his So6 La Saucissonerie, Hubert Vergoin showcases all his creativity, passion and touch of madness. As a sommelier, he personally knows all the winemakers on his wine list. As a chef, he enhances the freshly-picked produce to serve up plates full of colours, flavours and surprises. At Substrat – his neo-bistro housed in a former artisan’s workshop in Croix Rousse – the charm works: the venue, the dishes created from scratch and the wines, very often from local growers, enchant diners. At So6 La Saucissonerie, typical brasserie cuisine is what makes the place tick. Two venues, two atmospheres, but the spirit of sharing is ever-present, with a focus on Beaujolais wines. Hubert Vergoin is one of our award winners of the year!

A few words about you

“After training as a sommelier, I began my career at Chez Monsieur Paul at L’Auberge, as an apprentice. Next I worked as a sommelier in a wine shop and wine bar in the south and in Lyon until 2008. After that, I opened my first business, a cave à manger sandwich shop in Tassin-la-Demi-Lune and the restaurant Substrat on Thursday, November 21, 2013 just in time for the Beaujolais Nouveau festivities!”

A few words about your restaurant

“Substrat is in line with the neo-bistro style, with easy-drinking wines and freshly-picked produce… inspirational cuisine based on herbs, mushrooms and garden veggies.”

An anecdote (or two) from behind the scenes

“When the restaurant first opened, the desserts weren’t quite up to par. We worked hard to make them stand out, especially the ice cream that I love: I wanted to make chef desserts with homemade ice cream in original flavours, for example: a slice of gingerbread topped with cep ice cream, olive oil ice cream served on a white chocolate biscuit, or fresh strawberries served with sheep’s cheese ice cream… One day, a customer asked if we could ‘just’ serve him a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert. I think he thought we had a freezer full of ice cream flavours. We even offered to serve him a bit of whipped cream with it, before politely telling him no way!”

A beaujolais wine-and-food pairing

“A surprising food and wine pairing is with oysters and a Fleurie wine, for example!” 

Why are you so attached to the Beaujolais region?

“Gamay runs in my blood! It’s like the Rhône and Saône rivers… I like the very Gallic side of this region and also its genuine organic-nature avant-garde approach.” (an avant-gardist approach, a new generation)

One of your “favourite” winegrowers and why

“Julien Sunier. He’s a friend. We started out together in 2008.”

The 10^th arrondissement of Paris is where the Le Mordant (which translates loosely as ‘The Bite’) ‘bares its fangs’ and serves refined, attractive dishes. All the produce is meticulously selected at the producers. We’re here to provide a colourful, appealing cuisine with a spirit of sharing. At times traditional and at times exotic, the dishes get inspiration from countless places, taking diners far from their day-to-day routine as they eat.

a few words about you

Lucas Blanchy has been in the restaurant business for nearly 20 years. After spending time as a chef in restaurants like Georges V or Jules Vernes, Le Mordant is his first creation! Besides being an excellent chef, he is also an outstanding sommelier, fond of the terroir and fresh produce. With a leaning towards organic and biodynamics, he has developed a soft spot for natural wines. But for him, what’s important is “listening to the winegrower who is a purveyor of emotions, the wines are chosen to faithfully transpose what the grower has done with respect.”

a few words about the restaurant

“Before the restaurant was created here, there was a supermarket! So we had to rethink the decoration, now designed by the architect Lucie Lepage-Depreux. At Le Mordant, we strongly believe in recurring dishes, tow which the team’s ideas and cravings are added. The heart of the cuisine is to work with fresh, traceable produce. Traditional recipes are reinvented with a twist and daring seasonings, to bring the classics back into fashion. Like the standard ‘egg and mayo’ now infused with black tea and its wasabi mayonnaise.”

A signature dish

“The ‘avocado and beef tataki with a zest of lemon’. The chunks of tender beef are marinated in soy sauce, with kefir lemon and other secret ingredients. They are grilled then marinated again for 24 hours.”

A Beaujolais wine-and-food pairing

“Daddy Roger pork ribs – a recipe that’s a tribute to a friend’s American father. They pair perfectly with the Juliénas wine from the Domaine des Marrans. It’s an easy-to-drink wine that goes very well with the smoky taste in the barbecue sauce and the rather fatty piece of meat.”

One of your “favourite” winegrowers and why

“Jean-Claude Lapalu, who I’ve known since my training as a sommelier. I was taken with his ‘Eau Forte’ cuvée! He makes wines that provide lots of emotion and he’s amazing. He tells the story of the terroir and the Beaujolais through his wines.”

Why are you so attached to the Beaujolais region?

“I discovered the region when I was training to become a sommelier. I loved the Gamay grape variety and fell in love with the terroir and the diversity between the different appellations. They each have their unique typicities and every tasting has a nice surprise in store. I have my heart set on introducing others to the wines of this region. So it makes sense to be listed as a Bistrot Beaujolais and it lets me fly the Beaujolais flag high.”

An anecdote (or two) from behind the scenes

“Our customers are fairly traditional in their approach to wines so I like guiding them towards appellations that aren’t quite as well known, getting them to do blind tastings to overcome their biases, and introducing them to the real Beaujolais.

One day I recommended a Beaujolais to a customer; but he wouldn’t have any of it. As a risk-taker I decided to bring him and his guests wine by the glass. The whole table agreed: they loved it! Then I told them what I had served them… a Beaujolais! They were surprised but keep coming back for more now.

I also love keeping Jean-Claude Lapalu’s Beaujolais Nouveau on hand, and serving it year round to my customers, to surprise them.”