In the aisles of the Périgueux Gourmet Book Festival, it's impossible to miss it. Thierry Cornuet, aka Big T, is the king of barbecue, he walks around with an imposing build, covered by a red and black checkered shirt worthy of Canadian lumberjacks, a cap and a leather apron. This Saturday, he demonstrated one of the recipes his first book which came out a few months ago. A book around the world of barbecue, a world that has fascinated him since the age of 5.
The transmission
In front of around 80 people, he detailed at length the secrets of barbecue. Today's recipe, a salmon fillet covered with finely chopped vegetables, which turns into a crust. The fish is placed on a cedar plank, which is then placed on the plancha to provide a very particular taste. An impressive cooking technique, where patience is an essential key.
Next to him, a young woman, wearing a hat, busy preparing the vegetables. Sirine Petit is in a culinary upgrade class at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of Dordogne in Boulazac-Isle-Manoire. “It's only been two months since I started, but the bosses are very nice to me, she said between two cuts. “We must support and encourage them, there is talent in France, replies Big T. It's a profession that has long been undervalued because there are a lot of sacrifices, but we do it to give people happiness.”
The barbecue is “unifying”
This young person in training found herself immersed in the deep end in front of an audience and with cameras aimed at her hands to show these preparations, to relieve stress, she only looks at the knife and what she has to do: “I forget they’re there so it’s going well”she says, laughing.
In the room, questions abound about cooking techniques, cutting, but also the choice of ingredients. When the preparation is finished, the curious come to smell the smells above the cooking plate. “It smells like the forest”is surprised by one of the women who comes to see with her own eyes the salmon coated in vegetables. Throughout his preparation, the king of barbecue insisted on the importance of having fun, and the appearance “unifying” of his discipline, before offering a cedar plank to a couple present in the room.
