Michel Troisgros
“The inheritor of taste”
By Laurent Feneau

In Roanne, at the feet of the Forez mountains, Michel Troisgrois continues the work started by his grandfather, Jean-Baptiste, in 1930. His culinary creations are both similar and different from his father's and uncle's cooking. He is quite simply an inventor of tomorrow's classics.

There are some legacies which are more difficult to assume than others … this is the case for Michel Troisgros, who, at a young age was introduced into the cooking world of nouvelle cuisine concocted by his father and uncle, Pierre and Jean, at the beginning of the 70's. For more than half a century, this hotel-restaurant at the Roanne train-station has been a landmark, and the name of the gourmet owners is a mythical part of French gastronomy. After the Troisgros brothers, here is the son Michel whose cooking is based on closing the gap between the past and the future. Over the past twenty years he has managed to receive the most prestigious culinary distinctions and awards. In the United States, didn't the restaurant Troisgros just get elected the best hotel-restaurant in the world?
"I inherited taste," is the first thing which this Roanne chef declares. This is easy to understand when you learn that Michel Troisgros grew up surrounded by a double French-Italian culinary culture. It was shared between the daily meals prepared by his Italian grandmother from Frioul, whom he nicknamed "Mémé Forte", and the nouvelle cuisine from the famous restaurant. There were probably already aromas of vinegar and fragrances of lemon and orange which were floating around at that time …. A little later, Michel discovered Japanese cooking which definitely comforted him in his decision to move towards this surprisingly acidic cooking. "In 1967, my father Pierre left for several months to go open the restaurant Maxim's in Japan. That made a big impression on me. First because it seemed like he was gone a long time, but also because he returned laden with kimonos, sabres and, most of all, with exotic ingredients. As soon as I was able, I went to Tokyo and for the past twenty years I make an average of two trips per year", relates this admirer of Japan.

From Tokyo to the Roanne market …
Asia and Italy are therefore experiences which he both cherishes and is proud of, just like his childhood in the Forez and the Burgundy traditions. During his travels - in Japan but also all over the world - from his meetings and even from some of his readers, Michel Troisgros has invented a whole cooking world without ever having to renounce his father's famous sorrel salmon dish. He imports spices, herbs and exotic fruit such as the well-known Japanese citrus fruit called yuzu, which, together create completely new and original tastes. From the starter to the dessert, and even when tasting the wines, the common factor of his cooking is, and remains, the acidity. The hint of zesty lemon, livened up with subtle touches of vinegar or condiments, and often sustained by the freshness of some perfectly-selected herbs, all underlie the fine and delicious experiences proposed by Michel. And he is never short of ideas as, "any dish on a menu can always evolve".
In Roanne, this acidity may be found in an infinite number of products which may be broken down into two distinct groups. The first is for fruit, vegetables and herbs with all their nuances, and, the second is for all fermented products, wines, vinegars and dairy products. Choosing the right products becomes, quite obviously, essential. So much so that Michel Troisgros cooks according to the seasons, or should we say, according to the market. "For me, just the fact of being in a market is fantastic. There's the ambiance, the discussions with the producers, and most importantly, the contact with the products", he explains, adding that, "I impatiently await the coming of each summer for the tomato season, each fall for the ceps and, I love cooking with citrus fruit which I find hard to cook without".

A man of research
More than the substance, this taste genius is first and foremost interested in the content, and, how the acidity joins with the sweetness to create a complex and surprising pair. "My objective is to assemble the products, creating a balance of tastes which is accomplished with uncalculated and individual ease. This three-star chef feels as much a part of his country and his products as he does to nature. For him, the future of French cooking therefore depends on the quality of the environment in which Man will evolve over the following years. "We really should be worrying more about protecting our resources, our products and our cooking, as, bottom line, isn't everything linked to the quality of air and water?" asks the chef.
In his rare moments of leisure, he is on his bicycle, pedalling around this beautiful Roanne region. His projects? The upcoming opening, along with his wife Marie-Pierre, of a farm-inn in the Brionnais region, home of the famous Charolais cows. Going back to his roots? No, even if Michel Troisgros' cooking may sometimes move from past to present, it is never nostalgic. Like its creator, it is, on the contrary, sometimes travelling, often happy, but always in his time.

Chinese portrait
" If you were … "
- A quality: patience
- A defect: impatience
- An animal: a dog
- A country: Italy
- A piece of music: anything by Benabar
- A film: " The straight story" by David Lynch
- A book: a novel by Paul Auster
- A dish: spaghetti Bolognaise
- A wine: a Meursault

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