After having followed great chefs including Jacques Mazerand in Lattes, Eric Cellier in Montpellier, and Paul Bocuse in Lyon, Julien Dubroc returns to Occitanie.
What is the gastronomic identity of Grand Pic Saint-Loup for you?
First of all, the garrigue of course. Like for many chefs, inspiration comes from wandering in nature. Here the scents of thyme and rosemary hit you as soon as you bend down! Their flowers produce a very fragrant honey, the olive trees are an integral part of the landscape… These are just a few examples of the diverse aromas and smells that make the territory an inexhaustible source of inspiration.
Then the Mediterranean, because we are indeed in a Mediterranean environment, and the products from the sea offer us very beautiful things, particularly for creating land/sea pairings that connect the coast and the hinterland. Finally, it’s the quality of local products. We know the wine of course and we must pay tribute to the work of the winemakers who have worked with their demands to develop the recognition of our territory.
But Grand Pic Saint-Loup is full of nuggets and producers who know how to develop small productions of very high quality.
Do you have any examples?
Yes, of course, and I haven’t finished discovering them. In Saint-Jean-de-Buèges for example, you will find the trout from Maison Olivier. A rare product that does wonders marinated in the style of "gravlax*". Or the veal from Puech Sérenanne from Mr. Senet.
I think of the truffle from Gilbert Seranne in Viols-le-Fort, or the honey from Fanabregol… with the aromatics from Pic in Saint-Martin-de-Londres… unfortunately I can’t list them all here!
* Dish whose main ingredient is raw and marinated
Your projects in Grand Pic Saint-Loup?
I work at Dock du GR in Saint-Martin-de-Londres which opened at the beginning of this year. A place that we want to be much more than a restaurant. We want it to reflect this diversity of producers, offering cooking workshops, a grocery store dedicated to local products, a tasting room, a very beautiful cellar that aims to be a showcase for local wines… but also a place for exhibitions, a garden, a vegetable garden… a sharing space open to the territory.
I also place a lot of importance on transmission and learning. Just as my mentors have allowed me to progress, I wish to do the same for the upcoming generation.
What cuisine do you want to develop?
I care as much about gastronomic quality as about the conviviality around a table. Our identity is also that, a qualitative requirement, but a simplicity of welcome and human relationships.
