in Paris, immersed in the “anti-waste” cuisine of Top Chef Jean Covillault

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“I would like to create a free restaurant.” Jean Covillault has little taste for the light of gastronomy “elitist”, based on the use of luxury products. At 28, the former candidate for the show Top Chef, one of the leading culinary cathode programs, prefers stripping and sobriety. For almost a month, the chef has installed his apron in a pop-up restaurant called “Leftovers”at 16 rue Pastourelle, in the heart of the Marais, the emblematic district of the 3rd arrondissement of Paris.

The complete menu at 22 euros

Every evening, Jean Covillault offers a menu 22 euros based at “80%” on the food recycling abandoned by the food industry. On the program, two starters, two main courses and two desserts. A choice deliberately limited. “I give myself the flexibility to decide on my compositions thanks to my supplies. Ugly fruit is life,” explains this affable, jovial and talkative Auvergne, to news Paris, Tuesday December 17, 2024.

To do this, he chose a place with decoration mixed with personal passions and posters of magazines. Overlooking the bar, a reference to golf, one of his passions with his “friend” Paul, the sommelier. On the walls, headlines of Nature Magazine, Mademoiselleor even the Fashions of Paris. Near the kitchen, two old Loto covers to illustrate a “ PMU ».

This decor rubs shoulders with a kitchen without lights and “anti-waste”. In the handful of bins placed on the kitchen shelves, fruitsof the vegetables and proteins directly supplied by the US anti-waste grocery store network. “I do my shopping in a store. Then I manage the ingredients. I can do quite a few dishes with few ingredients », explains the man who moved to the capital seven years ago.

In his hands, colorful carrots sublimate in a pot. A dozen shallots with faces that do not conform to the standards of the grande distributionare superimposed on it. A block of butter tops it all off. Then a piece of cling film to maintain “optimal” preparation. That same evening, its dozens of customers will be able to drink this “anti-waste” cream.

“Peasant common sense”

If he willingly castigates the faults of the “ consumer society »
marked by “visible waste on the plates” but “invisible in mass distribution”, Jean Covillault refuses to be part of a chef approach “ engaged “. To this, the holder of a scientific baccalaureate opposes a “rational approach”, summarized by the hackneyed formula of “farmer common sense”.

“In Auvergne, everything was counted. I try to transcribe that in my cooking. The goal is to innovate with as few resources as possible. We speak to more people by doing simple and popular things”

The data on the food waste make you dizzy. In 2022, 9.4 million tonnes of food waste were thrown away in France, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. This represents the equivalent of 25 kilos of food per yearaccording to the Environment and Energy Management Agency (Ademe). This edifying average is nevertheless below the European median.

Despite his commitment, Jean Covillault does not shy away from his responsibility as “leader and citizen”. In addition to food waste, this unfolds in front of the mountain of plasticsreceived. “I receive a lot of packaging from mass distribution,” he laments. “I would like to reduce that footprint. It would make me less dependent.”

This desire to plow the furrow of sobriety is not unrelated to itsnew projects. In April 2025, he will take a truck tour of several territories on the theme of “village festivals”. Jean Covillault will also travel to several large cities for a concept that he is keeping secret. In the meantime, his restaurant will remain open until30 mars 2025.

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