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LA FERME DU MOULIN

Anaïs et Thomas Hardy, Vincent Thomy, Jean-Luc Rallu et Estelle Passelande​​

La Chapelle-Glain (44)​​

En s’appuyant sur un modèle vertueux de polyculture, la Ferme du Moulin regroupe 5 associés et compte environ 120 ha de terres entièrement cultivées en agriculture biologique et une grande diversité de production : élevage d’agneaux solognots (race en voie de conservation) et de vaches jersiaises, produits laitiers de brebis, porcs en plein air de race Longué bayeux, pain au levain issu du blé de la ferme (variétés anciennes et panifiables) et la culture de myrtilles.
Leur production est vendue en direct, sur les marchés de Nantes et d’Angers, dans les magasins de producteurs et à travers les AMAPS.

It’s been 3 months since my last series of posts, and quite a lot has happened during that time. At MBC our lunchtimes have been pretty crazy with 50+ covers being the average – no surprise really because I reckon that we do the best lunch food in the neighbourhood. The evening services, on the other hand, have been a lot more “hit and miss” – sometimes 10, sometimes 40+. I still reckon that we’re just a bit too expensive and that the evening menu simply doesn’t change often enough. That said, last week we started our new evening menu – which I really like. Some great associations & contrasts of flavour / texture / colour – crabe / hélantis / crumble sarrasin-chataigne ; foie gras / champignon paris / kumquat ; st jacques / mâche fumée / cerfeuil racine ; raie / huitre / tajine rhubarbe-panais ; glace et madeleine blé noir / truffe / poire.

That’s MBC…..

As all of that has been going on, I’ve been planning my escape, and at the start of January 2011 I managed to negotiate my departure – “une rupture conventionelle” which allows me to leave and retain my dole if I don’t find a job that interests me….a nice safety net. During january there weren’t many adverts that interested me….and then I saw Senderens (2 star michelin kitchen) again looking for kitchen staff…..me in a 2 star kitchen ???…yep, I fancy that….before leaving for Nantes I want to take advantage of being in Paris to work in a top kitchen. The thing is that I’d been for a trial almost exactly 1 year earlier, but clearly I wasn’t ready – they didn’t even call me back as I recall. Since then I’ve made a lot of progress working at MBC, so I figured that it would be worth a 2nd attempt. My lunch service trial went well, I found a place straight away on the fish section (my favourite section), I was at ease and understood much better how one should function in a professional kitchen. Clearly the chef was happier with me this time around, and I was offered the role of demi chef de partie on the fish section.

I was delighted to finally be able to see what working in a 2 star kitchen is about – what an opportunity.

My chef at MBC thought that I should look for a chef position in a small, local café/restaurant. The idea being to replicate the kind of set up that I will probably have when I eventually set up my own restaurant. I could see his point of view, but I have so wanted to be in a michelin star kitchen ever since I started this coversion from consultant to chef, that this opportunity was too good to miss….even though the salary is even less than MBC !

I start tomorrow (after 1 week off from MBC) and I have to say that I am quietly “shitting” myself…..will I be up to it, will I follow the service, will I be too tired working from 7h30 ’til midnight ? We’ll see and I’ll let you know……

2 réponses

  1. I’m inspired by your team values. In describing daily operations, you always use “we” and not “they” or “those guys” or “them corporate overlords”. To me that’s a winning attitude that’ll help you rise in your upcoming challenge. Experience is on your side – the young guys look only to their own work, the veterans take more of a bird’s-eye view of things.

  2. Hi Dom,
    You never told us bout ur experience @ Senderens. How did it go on? Amazing food, no?
    Cheers & keep well,
    Mike

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