Sebastian's Kitchen
Sébastien Bras's cuisine explores every facet of his region to deliver a contemporary vision of the land and all its produce. Drawing from an endless repertoire of vegetables, he offers an intuitive and sensitive definition of the taste of Aubrac.
Lively, spontaneous, sensitive
“I create a spontaneous, vibrant, and sensitive ‘cuisine of the moment,’ one that touches the heart more than the head, with nature and the Aubrac region as its guiding threads. But make no mistake, it is also the result of a journey, of work, of repeated gestures, of maturity, of history. The taste of cuisine is a balance: it is a state of mind, a lot of work, and a sum of lived experiences.” Focused on the essentials, Sébastien’s cuisine is not demonstrative, but encompasses all the senses. “I revel in working with so-called ‘non-noble’ ingredients—milk skin, black bryony, a simple slice of bacon or bread; a cuisine of little nothings.” Another element of his repertoire: the Niacs. “These are small bursts of flavor, strokes of intensity designed to awaken a dish. The Niac animates, energizes, invigorates, and challenges through provocation.”
Enhancing the beauty of plants
Without ever neglecting the magnificent and abundant exceptional meat products of his region, Sébastien has always cooked in harmony with nature's rhythm, that of the green treasures of the plateau and the Lagardelle garden where, each day in the fresh morning air, shoots, herbs, vegetables, roots, and flowers are harvested. His "Taste of the Garden" menu, created long before the trend for green and vegetarian dishes, invites us today to savor thinly sliced Lézignan onions on a traditional pastry base, comforted by a melting rapeseed oil cream. Tomorrow it might be kohlrabi, delicately cooked, dressed with curdled milk, fresh radishes, and broad beans from the market, enlivened by our Sichuan pepper, grown in Aveyron, in the Lagardelle garden. Or perhaps a warm, gooey asparagus biscuit with lingonberry sorbet, punctuated with a touch of almond.
The influence of travel
Sébastien Bras readily blends his Aubrac-inspired cuisine with influences from his travels. Japan is undoubtedly one of the cultures whose aromas permeate the chef. "I often think about umami, this fifth taste, alongside sour, bitter, sweet, and salty. Its ability to balance and round out the overall flavor of a dish sometimes guides my choices, for example, when I use an infusion of pastre, that flavorful pig 'bag of bones,' or when I pair a touch of anchovy with a sauce." But sometimes, escape is right at the stovetop. "With my very international teams, we mix ideas as much as ingredients and frequently reinvent the… gastronomic world." This often leads to delightful combinations.
