Christophe Bacquié
Maquis-style sushi
By Laurent Feneau

There is a small path starting from the beach and leading up towards the mountain. At the end you'll find Christophe Basquié's restaurant, sitting in beautiful natural surroundings. When you sit down, it's like being in the middle of the maquis with all its tastes and fragrances …

With his somewhat shy character, a little rough, and never totally opening up, Christophe Bacquié is a bit like this small piece of maquis perched above the sea, upon which L'Alivu* seems to watch over the Calvi citadelle. Here, everything seems to focus on light with the first morning rays coming from the bay, the golden glimmers softly caressing rooftops of the small houses, the colours of nature… so many sunfilled promises which reflect the cuisine of this Corsican chef.
The dining room and restaurant terrace are surrounded by 3 hectares of gardens full of the island flora. Cyprus and olive trees delicately shade the outlines of the myrtle, lavender and bracken. The fragrances, colours and savours of this environment are omnipresent in all of Christopher's cuisine. Cuisine and nature talk together, intimately interlinked and intertwined. The fusion is so perfect and the osmosis so total, that the guest may become confused as to who influences who - nature over cuisine or cuisine over nature …
But this is quite normal considering Christophe is a true native. He knows this island like the back of his hand - the sea, the mountain, the maquis, and all the products which grow there. Like Laetitia Casta (!) he grew up in Lumio, a small village overlooking the sea to the north of Calvi. It's as if only famous people and stars are born on this little rock …

" Sea-earth " alliance
It was in fact hard to leave, so he just gave himself the time to go study on the continent … a quick work experience with Louis Outhier at the Napoule - the same school as René Dieger! - and then he was back. He immediately took charge of the l'Alivu, and the awards then followed, without necessarily being the same. Christophe was awarded a first star in 2003, and the title of MOF (Meilleurs Ouvriers de France), which is the most desired award of chefs, two years later. But he's always kept a cool head. "A star awards teamwork and the title of MOF comes after a lot of hard personal work." But then he adds with a grin, "I really owe my blue-white-red collar to Yannick Alleno who gently pinned me up against the wall of the Meurice kitchen when I threatened to just walk away from everything."
Despite a freshly awarded second star last year, the chef remains almost bizarrely modest. "I cook very classic and simple dishes. People often comment that I'm wrong to describe my cuisine this way but I stick to my guns!" He doesn't do any Corsican dishes either … "Local grandmothers do it better than me." So what exactly does he do? Christophe Bacquié quite simply creates dishes deeply rooted in his time and this Mediterranean region. One of his creations can sum-up his ability to innovate with seafood: the Denti de palangre grilled and accompanied by an oyster-tomato marinade. An explosion of iodine underlined by the delicate lime acidity.

Playing football in the maquis!
This incredibly tall shy-guy (6-foot-4-inches) has no-one close to rivalling his skill for cooking fish. As he puts it, "It's a magical product when cooked right - a 5 degree difference is all it takes to totally change the texture of a fillet." The same precision is needed when making broths such as the famous spider-crab broth, served as is in small glasses with a John Dory sushi. "With time, I feel like I'm changing direction and am learning to cook in a more refined manner."
Even if Christophe likes seasoning his dishes with typically Corsican fragrances, his cooking approach is far from being insular. On the contrary, he loves to order products and spices from all over the world. You can find a yuzu jelly discretely placed on the side of a plate or a hint of fresh Combava …. all presented in his own personal style, and showing off the essential.
Both in the kitchen and the dining room, the team is entirely managed by him. "Thirty people in all with an equal amount of questions I ask myself each morning," he says. And each person has their part to play. For example, Elodie Serrault manages the wine cellar and there's no denying that she has the perfect professional know-how to suggest the best local wines to the clients.
Awards and titles have not stopped Christophe from always looking ahead. He really wants to have his team be part of an even great success. "So much hard work was involved for us to get our second star, and the best way of keeping it is to get a third one!" Meanwhile, in between the midday and evening rush, he goes out and plays football! "It's the only way I've found to relax, so I kick the ball round with the younger guys from the kitchen team." This is the best way to just move forward and even … get to play in the finals!

* L'Alivu: "olive tree" in Corsican.

Chinese portrait
"If you were..."
...a quality
Strong-willed
...a flaw
"couldn't-give-a-damn" attitude
...an animal
A cat
...a country
France
...a film
"The Pink Panther"
...a book
A cookbook
...a famous woman
Sophie Marceau
...a dish
Une blanquette de veau
...a wine
A Romanée-Conti

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