Déjeuner en Ville

Ever since my traumatic experience at my last restaurant, I’ve been wanting to find out how my next and last internship would turn out… today was my first day, and I am much more than relieved. Not only is the Chef actually nice, he doesn’t scream or swear or smoke in the kitchen, and the food is delicious! I now know for sure that I made the right choice, as I was hesitating between another Michelin-starred restaurant (three stars, actually) where the chef is known to be human only with the one non-human in the kitchen: his dog (not only does the dog preside next to him in the kitchen, he is fed choice cuts of meat, foie gras and the like).
My new chef is bald and round and has a big white moustache. He had a classical training starting at age fourteen in his native Strasbourg, but since has lived and worked as a chef all over Africa. He took over this business in downtown Marseille five years ago, and has a steady clientele who come for lunch from the nearby offices around the Vieux Port. His cooking is very personal, meaning to say he is not interested in trends, as was the case with my last three restaurants. He described his style as “rustic,” which suits me perfectly, as for me this implies authenticity.
Today we served aioli, which is steamed fish and vegetables with a home-made garlicky mayonnaise – his was divine. We also had turkey with cèpes mushrooms, which was probably good, but I personally prefer serving seasonal dishes, and this for me was an autumn dish. There were a lot of salads as well, and Corsican flavors such as bruccio (a fresh cheese, served savory or sweet) and figatellu (a sort of dried pork sausage). I am not working this week end but I can’t wait to see what we’ll prepare on Monday.

Déjeuner en Ville, 3 bis rue de la Coutellerie, near Vieux Port