“The Nantes-style game is butter blanc” – France – FC Nantes

Hello Mathieu, can you introduce us to your restaurant?

The Manoir de la Régate is located in Nantes, on the banks of the Erdre. It is also the family home. My father Loïc opened this establishment in 1995, I grew up there since we lived upstairs from the restaurant. In 2017, we bought the restaurant with my sister Anne-Charlotte who takes care of the room service. In 2021, we obtained the star as well as the green star from the Michelin guide. Our cuisine is quite modern, while respecting traditions. I have the chance to work with a lot of small local producers, who do great work. My goal is to enhance what they bring to us.

In addition to your career as a chef, you have played football for a long time and you are a fan of FC Nantes: where does this passion come from?

I played at USJA Carquefou from the age of 5 to 18, and then when it became a little serious in the kitchen, I had to make choices. In Carquefou, as in all the local football schools, the style of play was calibrated to the pattern of FC Nantes. Around Nantes, we were all trained in the Nantes style game. The triangle game, no more than one or two touches of the ball… It was the ba-ba, all the clubs in Nantes played like that! It was only during trips to Vendée that it played differently, in the English way. And then I grew up 10 minutes from Beaujoire, so obviously I became a fan of FC Nantes.

What are your first memories of Beaujoire?

I remember a Nantes-Rennes at the end of the 1990s or at the very beginning of the 2000s, I no longer have the date in mind, but it was the heyday. We were in Tribune Loire with my father and the restaurant cooks. My family is Breton, so my father is for Rennes! I am the only one in the family to support Nantes. Then, Beaujoire, I went there very regularly with football friends. Today, I continue to go there from time to time even if I have less time. Especially since FC Nantes has been going green on the restaurant floor for around ten years when the club plays at home, and I have to welcome them.

Who were your idols when you were a kid?

When I was little, it was FC Nantes of Monterrubio, Da Rocha, Mika Landreau, Sibierski… I loved Marama Vahirua, with its paddle celebration. It must have happened to me to do it to celebrate a goal with Carquefou. (Laughs.) A little later, I was struck by Mario Yepes, his aggressiveness in recovering the ball and his winning mentality. He was a great defender. And then as I was a somewhat rough number 6, I really liked Nicolas Savinaud. Afterwards, like all kids, I dreamed of being a striker and scoring goals!

What is your biggest memory at the stadium?

The victory against OM, during Carquefou's epic Coupe de France. That season (2007-2008, Editor’s note), Nantes was in Ligue 2, so there wasn't much excitement. When Carquefou took over Beaujoire, it had been a long time since the stadium had been so full. Honestly, the atmosphere in the stadium that day… I had never experienced that, and I haven't experienced anything as strong today. I must have been 15 years old, my coaches were on the pitch against OM. All of Nantes came to support Carquefou, my little club which played in CFA 2. In the next round, we narrowly lost against PSG with one of Pauleta's last goals with the Parisian jersey.

When you go to the stadium, what do you eat?

Sausage pancake. These are the Breton roots that speak! We find it at Beaujoire, even if it is not in the club anthem like for Stade Rennes.

What does the Nantes style game look like on the plate?

Nantes is the white butter. The very classic sauce of French gastronomy comes from here, it was created in Saint-Julien-de-Concelles, 10 minutes from the restaurant on the banks of the Loire. So the Nantes-style game is totally white butter! But it also involves using local ingredients, and relying on the know-how of local producers. The dish that sums up the Nantes style game well is grilled fish, white butter, leek fondue: a nice triangle game. I prepare it with a Loire mullet that comes up the river from the sea and retains an iodized side, without being too fatty. That with a white butter with yuzu kosho – to bring pep and freshness – and a leek fondue with lots of herbs that we picked, it’s a banger !

What is the recipe for eating Rennes?

I can't give it away! I don't want to have problems with my family.

Ok. But then, the derby, who wins it on the plate?

Nantes. Because what's more, we have a vineyard. We have Muscadet.

How would a canary be cooked?

Roasted over a wood fire. We could prepare it like quail. You tie it up a bit like a roast chicken, you stuff it with pieces of bread, salt, pepper, a sprig of thyme. You lacquer the skin with a little semi-salted butter. Hop, wood-fired and impeccable.

A second star or a title for FC Nantes?

I take both.

Some players are picky eaters?

I remember that Sylvain Wiltord, the season he played in Nantes, came very regularly to the restaurant. In the new generation, we see fewer amateurs.

If you had to host a player or former player in your restaurant, who would it be?

Zidane, obviously. I would make him taste the carp mousseline, which is one of our signature dishes. (The restaurant has the particularity of only cooking river fish, Editor’s note.) It's a stuffing that we make with a carp caught on the banks of the Erdre, we mold the stuffing in a carp-shaped mold with shiso – a kind of Japanese basil – which gives the mousseline a beautiful green color. We serve this with a pot-au-feu broth and some freshly picked herbs. This dish is very identifiable from our house, I would love to make him taste it.

Do you have a nice recipe to offer FC Nantes fans for Christmas?

I suggest a stuffed capon, it's great for the holidays. We take a 3 kilo capon, empty it and stuff it with salted butter, thyme, bay leaf, and day-old bread. We put butter on the skin. In a Pyrex dish, put cider, carrots and onions and place the poultry on top. It takes one hour of cooking in the oven per kilo. For the first hour, we put the capon in the oven at 200 degrees. The second, we drop to 150. And the last hour, to 140 degrees. While it's cooking, we prepare a little stuffing with chestnuts, shallots, a little garlic, prunes, bacon, parsley and butter. We also use the capon's gizzards and liver so as not to throw anything away, we stir-fry everything. We finish the cooking with a little fine de Bretagne, an eau-de-vie made from cider. When the capon is cooked, we collect the bread that is inside and which has taken all the cooking juices, we mix it with our crumbled stuffing with a fork. Once it's done, stuff the capon again and put it back in the oven for just a few minutes to serve hot.

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