Michelin Guide: with the Doyenné, Essonne finds a starred restaurant
A green distinction for a sustainable kitchen. This Monday, a “green star” was awarded to the “Le Doyenné” restaurant, located in Saint-Vrain (Essonne) by the Michelin guide 2023, reference of the gastronomic criticism in France. This bonus created in 2019 rewards restaurants for initiatives “likely to reflect a strong commitment to sustainable gastronomy”. Eight restaurants received it in France this year, including another in Île-de-France, Hive in Gambais (Yvelines). Of more than 15,000 restaurants recommended by the guide, just over 350 are decorated with the green star.
The Deanery was created by chefs James Henry, 39, and Shaun Kelly, 38. These Australian chefs draw the soul of their cuisine from the vegetable garden and the farm adjoining the restaurant, in the former stables of the Château de Saint-Vrain, 40 kilometers from Paris. A local approach, “ecological, good for health and good for taste”, they assure.
Locally grown vegetables
The rapid rise of the Doyenné is based in particular on their “local” concept. The turnips cooked on the plate may have been picked up two hours earlier from the castle gardens. The farm also practices regenerative agriculture with compost. At Le Doyenné, old varieties of vegetables grown on site represent 100% of the side dishes on the menu.
A few months after its opening in June 2022, the farm-restaurant had already been voted “best restaurant in France” by the renowned Fooding 2023 guide, a kind of alternative Michelin. “This prize rewards a global project, from the kitchen to the reception, including the drinks menu and the atmosphere, explained to the Parisian Christine Doublet, editor-in-chief of Fooding. The Deanery’s project, imagined for five years, is very successful and corresponds perfectly to this price. »
Le Fooding was bought out in 2020 at 100% by Michelin. “The green star is a rather anecdotal reward, nuance a specialized gastronomic journalist. It allows the Michelin to reward a table already consecrated by the Fooding. In reality, this has little impact on the address and its reputation. »
This distinction nevertheless marks the return of a Michelin star to Essonne, after the restaurant “Word of mouth”, by Boutervillierslost his in 2019. Chef Aymeric Dreux obtained it for the first time in 2015.
