At the helm
“What do we serve there?” This is what I like to eat, it’s local cuisine, local cuisine. » Octavio Ribaudo has been retired for 5 years. As if a lifetime of work was not enough, the professional chef decided to take over the Restaurant de la Gare in Salies-de-Béarn with his partner. His wife, Catherine Maurer has co-managed the restaurant with him since it opened on Thursday April 5. “The first day, we had 40 seats! We’ve been full ever since. »
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Previously head chef in National Education then catering technician in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region for Octavio. Chef for 11 years in the public service, then home caterer and graduate of training at the Hector Serres agricultural high school in Dax – Oeyreluy for Catherine. The couple from Pau seized the opportunity and took over this “nice little restaurant” ideally located in a period building. After Catherine requested a contractual break to open the place, they both had three weeks to get started, change the decor and rearrange the kitchen. Little by little, the managers find their place and stand out from the previous owners.
The managers recently took over the Restaurant de la gare in Salies-de-Béarn to offer simple, local cuisine.
Alban Laffitte
Friday lunchtime, the dishes clink, the meat crackles in the kitchen, the first customers arrive. With a tight apron and rolled up sleeves, Catherine gets down to serving. To help them with accounting, kitchen set-up or customer reception, the sellers regularly come to lend a helping hand. In addition, the family of the current owners helps out during the installation. “I have my sister-in-law in the dining room and my daughter-in-law who helps us in the kitchen. » confides Catherine. It is currently impossible to open the restaurant in the evening. You can enjoy small dishes from the managers at lunchtime, from Monday to Friday. Octavio admits to wanting to recruit. “We would like part-time. We need someone to be there during the shooting, between noon and 3 p.m. One in the kitchen and one in the dining room ideally. »
Alban Laffitte
If the menu changes every day, you can choose between 3 starters, 3 main courses and 3 homemade desserts.
On the menu
What pleases? It’s the terroir. Octavio assures him: “We had a potluck one lunchtime. It worked very, very well! ” Nothing is left to chance. Mechanical clock in raw wood made in Monein, menu written in chalk on a blackboard, red and white checkered tablecloths… The place exudes local French gastronomy. That’s good, that’s what we eat there. The menu changes every day. You have the choice between 3 starters, 3 main courses and 3 desserts. Garbure, duck confit, hake and Spanish-style rice, Niçoise-style salad, roast cockerel, homemade 3-cheese tart… Price-wise, count on €13.50 for the main course alone, the main course and dessert at €16 and the full menu at €18.
Alban Laffitte
For the moment, Octavio and Catherine manage the restaurant together. They would like to find half time in the dining room and another in the kitchen, during the lunch break.
“We want it to be accessible to everyone. » says Catherine. Successful bet. The workers mingle in friendly reunions, with grandmothers who come to share a friendly moment with their grandchildren. Enough to fill the 43 seats in the dining room and the terrace with 20 seats in the summer.
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If the products are fresh, they are also local… whenever possible. “We try as much as possible to work with local producers, but it’s true that it’s not easy. » The fish used comes from the Saint-Jean-de-Luz fish market via the company TerreAzur, a food wholesaler based in Pau. The main problem for Octavio Ribaudo is freeing up time. If the cooks have found a poultry shop in Saint-Girons-en-Béarn, problem: they do not have the opportunity to be delivered. “We can’t afford to be in the kitchen and fetch the products at the same time. We need someone to deliver to us. »
Catherine crowds behind the counter, slaloming between two customers, notebook in hand. “I’ll leave you, I have clients. But don’t hesitate to come back to us! »
The chef’s recipe: garbure
Garbure is a traditional soup from Béarn found in the Basque country and throughout Gascony. Here are the chef’s secrets to making a good garbure.
– You need a trebuc or a camot. A heel of Bayonne ham will do the trick.
– Add local white beans, carrots, turnips, leeks, onions, garlic, potatoes, and green cabbage to simmer.
– Flavor everything with cloves, salt, pepper and Béarn pepper
– For meat, add a little goose confit, duck confit, pork confit or all three!
– A good garbure must simmer. In the past, the ladies put the garbure to cook in a cauldron, in the fireplace before leaving for the fields. The more it is heated, the better it is. The garbure from the day before is even more succulent.
– To finalize the tasting of your garbure, keep some on your plate, add a small swig of Madiran wine and make the goudale. What fun!
