Straight from the Chef’s mouth…

Michel Trama : “My job is to create emotion”

Since their arrival in Puymirol in 1978, Maryse and Michel Trama have transformed this delightful fortified village of the Lot-et-Garonne into a Mecca of culinary inventiveness. The story is to be relished in delicate morsels as told by one of today’s great masters.

Nothing presaged my becoming a chef

I was born in Constantine, in Algeria, 57 years ago. At an age when the majority of the chefs of my generation were already slaving over a stove, I was studying psycho-sociology in the United States, and then decorative arts in Montparnasse.I even qualified as a scuba diving instructor. It was when I met my wife, Maryse, that I decided to remain on terra firma. After having had various odd jobs, I took over the running of a bistrot, rue Bouffetard in Paris, in 1974. It was tiny, but that’s where I really started. While busy with my bistrot cooking, I devoured every cook-book and recipe book I could lay my hands on. Michel Guérard and the great Escoffier were my mentors. I spent days and nights going over and over their recipes…until the day came when I realised I had to take the plunge, push all the books aside, and give free rein to my own sensations. 

Puymirol was in some way our “quantum leap”

In 1978, after 4 years of hard work, Maryse and I wanted to leave Paris. It was purely by chance that we came to Puymirol, where there was a country inn to take over in a tiny town of just 400 inhabitants. When we arrived, we had to swap the pots and pans for trowels and tools to rebuild the stones, plug the holes, fix the tiles… It was our way of rebuilding the world.

Stars and friends are what matter most in our life

Without the first star in the Michelin guide in 1981, I think the Aubergade would quite simply have gone under. That distinction saved our bacon. And the second star, awarded in 1983, enabled us to undertake what today makes the Aubergade so magical. The recognition of Gault & Millau was also very important, when they elected me “Cook of the Year” in 1987 and 1991 with a score of 19.5. Certain friendships have also proved extremely useful. I’m thinking in particular of that of Jean Rougié who always believed in us and who stood by us during the difficult years. Naturally, I have remained faithful ever since to the leading products from Rougié. That’s how we gradually improved our restaurant, overhauled its kitchen, created the 10 rooms of our Relais & Châteaux hotel and opened the cloister, reminiscent of that of Moissac. It was not until 2004 that we were awarded our third star in the Michelin, 21 years after the second. In the life of a chef, 20 years is a long time!

People come to the Aubergade for creation

Creating is a state of mind which keeps you constantly on your toes. For a chef, it’s a battle you have to win with each meal. I want my cuisine to be the transcript of my sensitivity, my travels, the tastes and aromas of my childhood, of my mood of the moment. In any creation, there is inspiration, and also chance. Practically 20 years ago, I invented my fruit crystallines simply because I advertently left thin strips of apple in the oven for hours. In 1987, I also created the foie gras hamburger which combines apples with flap mushrooms and with celery. To accompany it, I invented a sauce called Ketcep, the recipe of which is a closely guarded secret.

My workshop is the proving ground of a real collegiate performance

The menu of the Aubergade comes in two parts. There is the “As always” side, which includes the dishes my customers always want to find. The other side is called “And more…the Michel Trama workshop”. That’s where I propose my creations, depending on the time of year, on the fresh produce available. When I say “workshop”, it is really in the sense of a painter’s or a sculptor’s workshop or studio. That means that everyone working here, in the dining room or in the kitchen, is a strong link along one and the same chain. Everyone contributes his or her personal touch, know-how and aesthetic sense. The role of the boss of the workshop is to be the initiator, provide the creative drive, supervise the performance of the work and, if necessary, add the finishing touch.

To invent what’s different, I rely on my 7 senses

You do not just happen to come to Puymirol. You have to get off the main road and follow the winding lanes which climb up here. In exchange for that effort, I am duty bound to mobilise all my creativity, to invent something different every day. That’s where I rely on my 7 senses. My first sense is the acute perception I have of people. That guides me to the type of cuisine which will really match their appetite, their sense of refinement, their urge to discover things new. As for the 7th sense, that’s emotion. Everything must be right, the service must be perfect, the meal must be celebratory. What we have to create, what we have to share is really a memorable moment of emotion.