What is the menu for the 2024 Prix Goncourt? Each year, the menu of the famous Prize evolves under the direction of Romain Van Thienen, chef of the restaurant Le Drouant, a mecca of Parisian gastronomy founded in 1880 by Charles Drouant which has welcomed the jurors since 1914.
It was Colette, president of Goncourt from 1949 until her death, who initiated the tradition of a celebratory menu composed of dishes that were dear to her: a shellfish, often the lobster which she loved, and a game or game. feathered. Since this date, the dishes have followed one another, their interpretations too, but without ever deviating from these two rules. “Since the Garnier family took over the reins, caviar and fish have enriched this literary feast,” underlines Romain Van Thienen.
The chef, echoing this tradition, interprets a game each year, under a theme chosen with James Ney, general manager at the Drouant restaurant. “In 2023, we celebrated gastronomy in literature. specifies the latter. Our game was inspired by the dinner in black cited by the writer Joris-Karl Huysmans in his work Backwards. » This roasted “Huysmans venison” was decorated with a grand veneur sauce made from a red wine reduction tinted with squid ink for a darker intensity. The accompaniments, cherries and blackcurrants preserved in muscovado sugar then roasted, brought even more depth.
In 2024, game will therefore be… feathered! “This time, a gray partridge in homage to the Marquise de Sévigné, who, during a Parisian feast, feasted on 15 poultry,” explains the Chef. I worked the partridge into a homemade puff pastry pie, with poultry and pork sides (Duroc pork, enriched with Colonnata bacon, South-West foie gras), dried figs and chanterelles, all combined with supremes. of partridge. This base is then wrapped in Pontoise cabbage before being buried in the puff pastry. Partridge legs, candied then fried, add a crispy touch. » The toppings – mushrooms, figs, and cabbage – blend into the pie, revealing each flavor when cut.
