“This is our first recipe book, rejoices Marie Trignon who took over in 2018. We had already published a booklet for the restaurant’s 40th anniversary but in small format. Here, we are on recipes and a large format. I wanted to collect dad’s recipes (Editor’s note: Vincent Trignon, founder of the restaurant and always present in the adventure)essentials that have made the reputation of the house but which I have revisited, put back in my own sauce, adding a contemporary touch. I wanted to pass that on, not to lose it. Customers, too, were asking for the recipes. So I set about the task.”
“We worked by season”
For such an undertaking, the chef was accompanied by Jean-Pierre Gabriel, whom she knows well and whom she greatly appreciates. Photographer, writer, consultant and journalist, he is the author of numerous works on art, design, architecture and gastronomy. “He has already worked with us for the little anniversary booklet. He already knew the restaurant well, our DNA. I provided him with the recipes, the information, the context and he produced the texts and photographs.” The journalist came regularly on site to advance the project, sometimes for the recipes, sometimes for the photo shoots. “We took two years to finalize the book, we worked by season. It came with every menu change. Dad was also involved from afar in this whole enterprise. He put his touch on it, bringing a nostalgic side.”
Scattered recipes
The work was not always easy. Because sometimes, the recipes were scattered across several notebooks. “The bosses are still scribbling left and right, everything was scattered. We had to restore order, consistency….” The result? A high-quality book containing 150 unique recipes: starters, main courses and desserts. The chef reveals all the secrets, the little tips and tricks of her and her dad’s signature dishes. “This book is accessible to everyone, amateur cook as well as professional.” The approach of the book is indeed original: each dish is preceded by one of the basics of La Roseraie cuisine. Among these, lobster bisque, foie gras terrine, cooking sweetbreads, the classics that Marie shares with her father but also new products such as herb oils, Provençal crumble, cocoa powder. oil made from maltodextrin…
Place of refinement
The book also allows you to immerse yourself in the world of the Roseraie, which is much more than a restaurant, than a good table. In the rooms of the house, as in the five shelters (glass cabins) placed in the shelter of the large trees, in the domain, Marie shares her passion for architecture and decoration, chosen down to the smallest object, which makes it a place of refinement.
This book of 270 delicious and superbly illustrated pages is on sale only at the restaurant, in Modave, where she will happily sign it. “It’s a beautiful summary of what we have on the menu in 2024 and our culinary history.” And the starred chef assures her: with what she found in the family drawers, there is enough to make a second volume of recipes…
> “Recipes from La Roseraie”. Texts and photographs by Jean-Pierre Gabriel. 270 pages. €45. [email protected].
Soon an aromatic garden and a spa and wellness area
Marie Trignon and her team never stop. The ideas come one after the other. After having erected its five shelters in the park, which are full all year round, it plans to provide visitors with little extras. “We no longer want to add shelters but rather pamper more the customers who come to sleep, by developing a wellness and spa area, in addition to the swimming pool and the glass roof.” There is also talk, in 2025, of creating an aromatic garden from which she will draw for her recipes.
