Michel Sarran is an emblematic figure of Toulouse gastonomy ; he is a chef of today, that is to say a culinary artist , passionate about taste, who has accorded us his confidence for a number of years already. His restaurant, awarded 2 stars in the famous Michelin guide, is an exceptional place where elegance, charm, delicacy, creativity and conviviality come together at its distinguished table…

What is your first memory associated with cheese ?

As a kid I didn’t really eat cheese. But I lived in a village in the Gers department, St Martin d’Armagnac, and at the time a grocer and his small van used to pass twice a week in the countryside ; he sold what is called “red cheese”, in fact a type of Gouda with red rind. And I’m also nostalgic about Old Mimolette which my father adored.

When you fancy a bit of cheese, how do you prefer it ?

At the end of a meal, and also as a snack. To finish a meal when I entertain guests at home ; when I prepare a festive meal, there is always a small cheeseboard. 3 or 4 well-chosen cheeses, not more. This is because it’s always a bit of a bother having loads of cheeses at home, and then being unable to preserve them correctly. As for the snack version, it’s a piece cut off with a knife. In fact I’m a bit partial to it. Even if I do try to be careful !

Françoise your wife is always at your side. If a cheese were to resemble her for her qualities, it would be … ?

Perhaps Brillat-Savarin, which has a lot of charm, mildness with lots of body as well as elegance. She is someone who is fundamentally nice and, like Brillat, has no acidity ! It is very creamy. And when it is married to a little truffle ; well it becomes something extraordinary …

What is the place of cheese on your menu ? In your kitchens ?

There are several dishes in which cheese plays a role. First of all in yoghurt, the beginnings of cheese : for starters we offer farm yoghurt with truffle. Or again in Liégeois de Bar, where the idea is to develop the fun fair theme. It is served with an Idiazabal croquette. I also use Parmesan, Pyrenees cheese, as well as Roquefort from time to time for croustades. The taste of cheese, especially as an appetizer, helps to tittilate the palate, waking it up before the start of the meal.To finish there is the “cheese trolley”. This is a table on which an assortment of cheeses are arranged, and where a different region is represented each week. We offer this to our clients, and even though we are in Toulouse which is not a region very culturally noted for its cheese consumption (unlike Burgundy where it is unthinkable to finish a meal without cheese), our customers are quickly tempted. If culturally cheese was not systematically offered at the end of a meal, habits have little changed. Some prefer it to a dessert.

In your opinion what constitutes the richness of a cheese ?

Like many food products, notably wine, it is its typical characteristics, its originality, its personality … There is such a palette of aromatic colours offered by cheeses, that all palates can be satisfied : everyone can find one to his/her taste, like wine. Personally, I adore veined cheeses, and I don’t really like goats’ milk cheese. And yet there was a time when I used to prepare stuffed courgette flowers with St Nicolas de la Dalmerie (a goats’ milk cheese – editor), and it was a dish which I enjoyed tremendously.

What do you expect from your cheese supplier ?

The cheese supplier is the link between the farm cheese-maker and us, restaurant owners, just as we are subsequently linked to the consumer. As a link in the chain, the restaurateur has an advisory, information, source-of-suggestions and organizing role. Manufacturers of quality products often work with the minimum of staff and, whether they are cheese-makers or wine growers, often have neither the time nor the means for canvassing, promotion, etc. Thus the intermediaries each have the role not only of informing, but also of revealing products and of training and organising the different teams.

You are a co-founder of A Feast of World Gastronomy (International Gastronomic Meetings) and you have recently cooked for Nelson Mandela … You are very present internationally : how do you see French cheeses in the world ?

In my work it is in effect interesting to effect exchanges : for several years I have been going to Japan where gastronomic weeks were organised. I demanded that cheeses from the Xavier Boutique be present ; the Japanese are very keen on cheese, which is quite paradoxical given that their culinary culture consists of fairly neutral tastes, but with loads of nuances and subtilities. While cheese has a clinging and powerful taste, but this does not worry them. French cheese remains a reference, like wine. However, I have tasted Californian cheeses which were extraordinary. If French cheese were a stallion, it has produced offspring. Even in France foreign cheeses are appreciated. But a little like its wine, it seems to me that French cheese is going to often have more character and more aromatic power, more intrinsic quality. Other cheeses are generally a little less strong, less complex. They must correspond to the palates of their consumers.

What is your favourite cheese ?

This is the type of choice which I find absurd. Do we have a favourite dish, a favourite chef ? I certainly don’t. There are times when I would like to eat Brillat-Savarin, for its mildness and for the cream, other times when I’m going to fancy a veined cheese, or an old Comté … Last weekend I was in the Auvergne region where I sampled an excellent Laguiole, the result of 18 months of refining. It depends on the moment, the place or the occasion. There are cheeses which I don’t really like, and I don’t have a favourite cheese ; I’m above all curious.

At the moment “Michel Sarran’s selection” is … ?

L’Anneau de Vic Bilh which I’m putting on my menu this season. It’s a cheese I like to work, and it’s production region is a close neighbour of the village of my birth in Armagnac, bordering the Madiran and Pacherenc countryside. In addition, the wine harvesting period is on us and Pacherenc de Vic Bilh is a wine I like a lot, with its dry/sweet taste. This association really reminds me of a passage in my life.

Interviewed by Maya Marin 24th July, 2007

For further information :

Michel Sarran

A Feast of World Gastronomy