“Au Bistronome”: behind the scenes of Mickaël Julen’s gastronomic bistro
Let’s go to La Ferté-Bernard in Sarthe to discover the restaurant “Au Bistronome”. Its concept: market cuisine and grilled over a wood fire. Discover the kitchens of this unique and unmissable establishment located in a city rich in history.
A concept of bistronomy with cooking over a wood fire
Located at 11 rue Bourgneuf, in the heart of downtown La Ferté-Bernard, and a few steps from the Notre Dame du Marais church, stands the restaurant of Chef Michaël Julen: Au Bistronome.
In a decor of old stones, the restaurant reminds us of the considerable history of the city which has occurred since the Middle Ages.
This old building, equipped with an old fireplace, immediately charmed Chef Michaël. This gave him the idea of putting a menu of wood-fired cuisine.
Upon entering the restaurant, a pleasant smell of burnt wood enhanced by tasty and subtle scents of fish and grilled meat emerge in the room.
Market cuisine, noble meats and fish for gourmets
Chef Michaël Julen has crossed seas and oceans to develop his talents as a chef. In thirty years, he settled in England and then in New Orleans, Louisiana.
His passion for the oceans and the seas is reflected in the cuisine of his restaurant. On the menu, varieties of noble fish prepared and grilled over the heat of a wood fire.
“We cook sole, turbot, brill, octopus or scallops. At the moment, we have French salmon that we grill over a wood fire. For the most demanding customers, we have installed a tank with lobsters. We will cook them on demand”, explains Chef Mickaël Julen.
“For meat, we offer pieces of beef grilled over a wood fire. At the moment on the menu, we also have sweetbreads which are very popular with regulars”.
The vegetables come from the market and are offered according to the seasons. At each service, around thirty guests gather in this bistro-style establishment recognized and appreciated by the people of Sarthe.
Traditional cuisine over a wood fire, but not only!
The fireplace, allowing grilling, is located in the main room. This ardent hearth is reborn at each service to offer the Chef’s succulent meat and fish dishes. But the establishment is also equipped with a high-performance professional kitchen that supports the teams in preparing the dishes.
A quick push in the hinged door that leads to the kitchen to discover a thermaline professional stove made to measure according to the Chef’s needs.
This is a compendium of technologies, innovative, easy to use and durable. They provide the chef and his teams with power and versatility in their work.
First of all, an aqua-cooker is present on the left side of the stove. It can be used in 3 ways: bain marie, pasta and rice cooker or for vacuum cooking. The chef mainly uses it to keep the sauces in his dishes warm. A water point is also present to fill the pans which are arranged on an Ecotop electric hot plate.
This Ecotop plate allows indirect cooking up to 450°C. The “standby” function keeps the hob on between the two services at a temperature of 80°C. It is ideal for saving energy. Its nickel coating also allows it to considerably reduce heat dispersion. The kitchen teams are less exposed to the high temperatures generally emitted by traditional hotplates.
On the left side, two 5 liter fryers are arranged on the right side of the stove. A basement consisting of an oven keeps clean dishes warm.
“Why Electrolux Professional?”
“We went from a gas stove to an electric stove. It took us some time to adapt but Thermaline is very good, it is very responsive. We manage to master the equipment in a few days. The return on cooking is very good and faster than before. The stove is also composed of an aqua-cooker and an Ecotop hob which is great because it keeps the heat for a very long time. We have optimized the space with this custom-made stove and I am very happy with it. Frankly, we have something very good! “
Chef Michaël Julen
List of installed equipment: