Par
Veronique Weber
Published on
Dec 16 2024 at 6:16 a.m.
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“It’s gigantic!” », marvels a Varengevillaise as she enters the future restaurant of the town. Saturday December 14, 2024, the mayor, elected officials, traders from Varengeville-sur-Mer (Seine-Maritime) and artisans involved in the project had the first chance to discover the Table d’Elka, the new establishment ofÉlodie and Laurent Kleczewski.
The couple is known in the Dieppe region for being at the head of starred restaurant of Offranville, the Dovecote since March 2002.
Between history and modernity
At 15 years from retirement, the chef wanted to take on a new challenge. Faced with the technical constraints of his cuisine at Le Colombier which prevented him from being able to develop new projectshe decided to imagine a new place to welcome his customers, develop and allow his staff to work in better conditions.
Five years ago, the couple entrusted the realization of their project to Eudois architectural firm In act. Bruno Ridel and his team worked long hours on the file, interacting extensively with restaurateurs to meet the challenge.
Challenge about to be met: it was necessary to both preserve the original farmhouse, rehabilitate it and design in a more modern part, on one side a large room for guests and above all a large kitchen.
The calendar
Who says opening of a new restaurant in Varengeville-sur-Mer, says closure of the Colombier in Offranville. So here is the schedule.
On December 19, the Offranvillais restaurant will close. “But we will provide takeaway sales on December 24 and 31,” announce the Kleczewski couple. He will then return the keys to the municipality in February.
On January 8, restaurateurs will receive the keys to Table d’Elka in Varengeville-sur-Mer.
The move from the Colombier is planned for January 12.
January 30 will officially open Elka’s Table.
Opening of the new restaurant in January 2025
The construction site started a year ago. Today, the work is not finished but is progressing quickly for a scheduled opening on January 30, 2025.
The first visitors were therefore able to discover the different spaces currently being completed and get an idea of the future restaurant during a tour guided by the chef and the architect.
From the entrance, in a vast space, the old stones of the farmhouse tell their story in front of a bright contemporary room.
This, thanks to its large bay windows, overlooks the future conservatory orchard where ancient species of apple and pear trees were planted. “We can accommodate around fifty customers here,” emphasizes the couple, compared to 40 in Offranville.
A restaurant designed by the starred chef
A second, more intimate room can accommodate around fifteen guests. It was designed to host seminars, family celebrations, etc. In these two spaces, “we chose natural fiber as a common thread,” explains Bruno Ridel.
The ceiling of the large room, for example, will be stretched with linen fabric, a plant fiber facing will also be made on several walls… Significant efforts are also being made to ensure a acoustic comfort and in terms of ambient temperature.
A name, a story
It’s not easy to find the right name for a new restaurant. For Elka’s Table, the term table quickly became established, in reference to the family table around which the Polish friends of the Kleczewski family sat to taste the good things presented by Laurent’s mother. “I wanted to rediscover this image of conviviality and do like my mother by making people happy,” says the chef. Elka is an idea suggested by one of their designer friends, using the same concept as Hergé, who took his initials. “EL” for the L of Laurent and “KA” for the K of Kleczewski. “Which worked all the better because “EL” also corresponds to Élodie,” adds the chef.
Good working conditions
The chef was also attentive to comfort of its staff. Apart from the changing rooms which meet current standards, he has provided a space where they can have a table to eat with a view of the orchard on one side and the kitchen on the other.
This table could also become “the friends’ table” or why not be the place for cooking classes.
“There are still plenty of things to invent,” smiles Laurent Kleczewski before introducing visitors to the cuisine. A kitchen dominated by a giant hood. If the equipment has not yet been installed, everything has been designed so that cooks, pastry chefs and servers can move forward fluidly.
Apprehension before opening? ” I am excited, impatient to be there but not yet terrified. That will do it, it’s our job. I might be a little out of breath at the first service but I know we have a good team,” the chef concludes with a smile.
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