Laurent et Jacques Pourcel
These so-loved Pourcels
By Laurent Feneau

When the Jardin des Sens opened in 1988, Laurent and Jacques Pourcel were only 23 … twenty years and three stars later, these French globetrotting chefs enjoy promoting their culinary skills all over the world, never failing in their know-how and generosity.

But "Who is who?". This is a question often asked by the clientele, fellow chefs and journalists coming to experience the sensual culinary pleasures prepared by the four hands of the Pourcel brothers. But even the two brothers admit to being very different … Laurent is rather reserved so rarely leaves the kitchen, but Jacques just passes through every now and again, between two trips abroad to open a new restaurant or to brief an expatriate kitchen team who have been sent to the other side of the world. As Jacques says "This difference already existed before we began working together and became more apparent throughout our career years." As, it should not be forgotten that prior to jointly creating the 3-star Jardin des Sens in 1988, these twins lived out their culinary passions separately. The result is two career paths, two experiences and two different culinary cultures, respectively acquired with the most emblematic leaders of French cooking. In the beginning of the 80's, Laurent worked with Michel Bras and Alain Chapel whereas Jacques was with Michel Trama, Marc Meneau and Pierre Gagnaire. Laurent fondly says "I have such great memories working with Michel Brase, it was something so new and magical because all of a sudden I had products in large quantities, like truffles, that I had never used before … ".
Even if Jacques and Laurent insist on their differences, they are both equally discreet and have the same modest look and attitude. This can immediately be seen in their unpretentious and inconspicuous restaurant façade. But behind it all is a secret place. A Japanese-style garden and a stairway planted with lemon and olive trees and umbrella pines as well as the fragrant bouquets of lavender, rosemary, thyme and verbena … hence the name "Jardin des Sens"! We can visually admire the red terra cotta used by Bruno Borrione, the architect. We can touch the delicately plated cutlery. We can smell the fragrances from the garden and we can listen to the reposing silence of a place totally dedicated to the senses.

A playground kitchen
Undoubtedly the colours, textures, fragrances and calmness are there to applaud the culinary pleasures of these two culinary masters being made in a kitchen which is happy, innovative and fun. These true artists of sweet and sour, bittersweet and crunchy-tender dishes look at cooking as a playground where the only rules are creativity, complicity and harmony. As Jacques explains, "Our cooking starts with the product and plays on contrasts. The aim is to have the guest understand what we have done and how it was done. For this, nothing can replace the true taste of a product and its different flavours ".
The menu at the Jardin des Sens obviously has some Languedoc influences, wonderfully combining all the various influences of the sea, the wild countryside, the sun and innovation. On one hand there is the Mediterranean cooking with olive oil, herbs and spicy flavours, and on the other hand the cooking influenced more by the Cévennes-region where the local products are put in the spotlight, without forgetting the Camargue.

Sense initiators…
Originally from Adge, a small seaside town, the Mediterranean is undeniably one of the inspirational sources of the two brothers who are both remarkable specialists of fish and seafood. There are no more secrets for them with the tide at Port-Vendres. They bring back bass, mullet, sea bass, and sea urchins, all of them having prominent places on the menu. Jacques and Laurent admit to having a weakness for the Mediterranean sea urchins which they prepare with a vegetable and crab filling set on their coral and… a light cream of Imperial Oscietre Caviar. With this land-sea encounter and a deliberate wish to discover Asian and Maghreb culinary cultures, they have managed to simultaneously express the ruggedness and gentleness of their native region.
For these two brothers who often speak in one and the same voice, the style and substance are inseparable when cooking, "as both must be well mulled over before execution!" Jacques adds. They have seemingly found a winning approach! This year the Pourcel brothers will celebrate their tenth year with three stars.

Immoderate globetrotters
Let's go back in time, to 1998, when Michelin pushed the Jardin des Sens into the spotlight. After only ten years of experience, the story of Laurent and Jacques changed into a fairy tale and they became the talk of the town! At the age of 33, these two young chefs were awarded three stars even before their mentor Michel Bras! Since then, this Montpellier restaurant has become a place not to be missed. This also goes for the other 17 restaurants opened by them over the last ten years. As Jacques explains, "Suddenly our opportunities doubled once we received the third star". This recognition has definitely allowed them to shine in all southern France with their "Compagnie des comptoirs" - a concept mixing bars and restaurants - and even up to Paris with the well-known Maison Blanche situated on Avenue Montaigne. This success has also pushed them to venture abroad, especially to Asia where the Pourcel brothers now have four restaurants, two in Tokyo, one in Bangkok and another in Shanghai … Laurent admits "We very much like Asia. Jacques and I feel good there and it's a continent where French chefs can really enjoy themselves". The Pourcel "group" has also been compared to the Alain Ducasse empire. But Olivier Château, the "third man" on the Pourcel planet, and Development Manager of the group, says this comparison is not viable. "Our expansion happens through chance meetings or opportunities, not because of commercial objectives which we generally have no control over from the start".
In short, the Pourcel school is developing all over the world, with strict directives from the Pourcel brothers to the teams to be simple and human and of promoting, first and foremost, the product and generosity! And this method is definitely a universal one, explains Jacques. "Culinary discoveries can become a permanent search, daring to break away from classical cooking and looking around at nature, the land, the country, and all over the world, and in dreams, to create innovative styles in a profession which is constantly changing". Much more than a recipe, it is a philosophy …

Chinese portrait
" If you were … "
- A quality, a flaw:
Jacques : "I'm pretty spendthrift… ".
Laurent : "Me, I'm more thrifty! ".
- A famous television duo:
Roger Moore and Tony Curtis in "The Persuaders".
- A famous singing duo:
"The Rita Mitsouko, we really liked Fred Chichin".
- A dish and wine which make the perfect pair:
Laurent : "a good plate of pasta with grated truffles and a trickle of olive oil".
Jacques : "a Chardonnay from Sicily".

Top