Located in the town center of Noisy-le-Grand, on one of the largest necropolises in France which houses burials dating from the Merovingian and Carolingian times (between the 6th and 11th centuries), the name of the open restaurant , at the end of 2021, by starred chef Jacky Ribault, there was everything: Les Mérovingiens*. When you enter this spacious establishment (70 seats), the references made to this dynasty are numerous, between the thick velvet curtains at the entrance, the imposing frames, the chain mail curtains which separate the tables and the paintings on the walls reviving this era, including that representing Clovis, first king of the Franks.
Sitting in front of a large round table, our host taps on his phone, waiting for us. With tied-up gray hair, a long shaggy beard and small bags under his eyes, Jacky Ribault has a face that’s a cross between a Sébastien Chabal and a Vincent Cassel. “It’s funny, people tell me that often”replies the person concerned. The comparison, of course, stops at these physical details because his specialty is neither rugby nor cinema but cooking. Owner of two other restaurants Qui Plume La Lune, in 11e in Paris, and L’Ours, in Vincennes, for which he each time received a Michelin star (in 2014 and 2019), the man is a authority in his art. In 2017, his participation in the program Toque Show, broadcast on M6 and presented by the cook and host Norbert Tarayre, allowed the general public to discover him. And the same to note that no culinary challenge (theme of the show) could impress this esthete fan of Japan.
Because Jacky Ribault likes challenges. Opening a chic – but not inaccessible – brasserie in Noisy-le-Grand in the wake of the Covid-19 epidemic was one of them. “If I had chosen to open Les Mérovingiens in the 16e district, I would double my turnover every yearnotes the chef, with his unmistakable banter and devastating outspokenness. But that was obviously not the goal. I’m not interested in greed. Noisy-le-Grand is a town that I know well having lived there for a few years, I know its potential. Going to Paris where there is a large clientele and a plethora of options had no interest. I like places where no one goes. Noisy, I loved it, there are good restaurants but what was missing was a trendy place, with nice decor and food that was off the beaten track. In Seine-Saint-Denis too, the inhabitants have beautiful palates, know how to recognize good products, they are no more stupid than elsewhere. I offer quality at a fair price: at lunchtime, you can eat for 25 euros. »
“Varied, multicultural and never jaded clientele”
Opened in November 2021 with executive chef Arnaud Baptiste (originally from the city and candidate for season 12 of Top Chef, the latter left after a year to start his own business), the success of the Mérovingiens was immediate. Attendance is well beyond expectations (around 5,000 guests per month) and the good reviews are pouring in. “As long as the food and wine are good, why look elsewhere? People from the area and neighboring towns have perfectly understood that there is no point in going to Paris where parking has become expensive and impossible and which is more than an hour away if things get busy.explains Jacky Ribault, who regrets that other starred chefs did not have the courage to leave Paris to cross the Rubicon. Indeed, since Jean-Claude Cahagnet, chef of the Auberge des Saints-Pères, in Aulnay-sous-Bois, gave up his star in 2023 and Camille Saint-M’Leux (one star) recently returned his apron at Villa9Trois, in Montreuil, to open a new place in the 16eSeine-Saint-Denis no longer has any restaurant awarded the sacrosanct little red guide. “In the absence of a Michelin-starred restaurant, a chef with a good reputation is more than enough to establish the reputation of a place. I would really like to open the way, make colleagues want to join me to benefit from a varied, multicultural and never jaded clientele.adds Jacky. Seine-Saint-Denis is a dynamic department and this is only the beginning because with Greater Paris, we will see more and more families arriving. People can no longer buy in Paris and are rediscovering the suburbs. »
On the menu, the daily specials cooked by Alexandre, defector chef from L’Ours, are salivating. We don’t know what to choose between the prawns sautéed in Lebanese zaatar (traditional spice mix), the lobster hot dog, the plancha-style scallops, the old-fashioned veal blanquette and the flank steak. Sirloin to share. And when the time comes for the chocolate cake, your taste buds go into ecstasy and start wishing that this moment would never end. “I cook without fuss where only the notion of pleasure countsexplains the chef. Star or not, you must always respect your customers. The decor, which was carefully chosen, was designed in the same way as that found in my two other establishments, with noble, quality materials. »
If success and honors accompany it today, our cordon bleu has come a long way. Coming from a large family (seven children) and penniless from Ille-et-Vilaine, Jacky got his hands dirty in the kitchen from a very young age. “My father, who cooked excellently, introduced me and gave me a taste forhe confides. He worked in the markets and I often accompanied him as a child. On Wednesdays, it was me who was responsible for cooking but, in general, it was a failure (laughs). I also took care of the animals on our farm. Milking cows and calving were always for my benefit. » At 14, he joined a gastronomic brasserie in Rennes as an apprentice. A first experience which could have put him off cooking as the conditions were so harsh, but he held his back and took the blows without flinching. This strength of character propelled him to La Fontaine aux Perles, a Michelin-starred restaurant where in the space of two years, he went from commis to kitchen assistant. But Jacky is restless and wants something else. The death of his father when he was 20 convinced him to leave Brittany. He settled in Chamonix where he found work in a hotel. “Pastry chef, kitchen assistant, I did a bit of everything, I drowned myself in work but I have great memories of it. »
-Two stars in five years
After an experience at the Ermitage Hotel in Zurich, Switzerland, the young man left to try his luck in Paris. He learned Lyon cuisine at Bouchon de la Grille, an institution now closed, which during his stay won the title of “best bistro of the year”, awarded by Gault et Millau. Attracted by the stars, he applied to prestigious houses. His profile appealed and landed him at L’Arpège, by Alain Passard, then at Taillevent under the direction of Philippe Legendre, “an undisputed master. » Pastry being his hobby, he targets Pierre Hermé, who agrees to recruit him at Ladurée, on the Champs-Élysées, “after three tries and having insisted a lot”. Vibrant, gifted with an unquenchable thirst for discovery and learning, Jacky sets off to polish his pots and knives at Shozan, a Franco-Japanese restaurant in 8e borough. We are at the dawn of the 2000s, Japanese cuisine is still little known to French palates. “I went to Tokyo for five months to learn the basics of this cuisine, I was struck by its richness”notes the chef. But the sign is closing. His agent then sent him to Tsé, a Chinese restaurant located at Porte d’Auteuil. “A big brasserie of which I was the chef, but where I had the feeling of not mastering much, between the staff who only spoke Mandarin and a cuisine I knew nothing about. » Never mind, Jacky Ribault ends up imposing his paw.
In his forties, while his hair and beard are graying, the cook wants to emancipate himself. From this newfound freedom was born in 2010 his first restaurant, Qui Plume la Lune, rue Amelot, in Paris. The press is inflamed. The Michelin guide also fell under its spell, which awarded it a star in 2014. Jacky enters the elite of French gastronomy. His life changes. The TV makes eyes at him. The program Toque Show, on M6, gave him additional notoriety which allowed him to convince his bankers to open a second establishment, l’Ours, in Vincennes, in 2018. His ” beast “as he likes to call it, gets a star the following year. “I am not ambitious, today I am largely satisfiedhe assures. The older I get, the more I like simple things. I will be truly happy the day I can move to a house in the country and watch my plants grow. Time is always what I lacked. » In the meantime, the leader devotes a third of this precious time to the Merovingians who, given their popularity – and unlike the Merovingian dynasty – is not about to die out.
Grégoire Remund
Photo credit: ©Nicolas Moulard
* Les Mérovingiens – 32 avenue Émile Cossonneau, Noisy-le-Grand – Open Tuesday to Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 1 a.m.
