Spontaneous cooking, good products, unique associations, it's always been his thing. Anthony Orjollet is shaking up the tastes of his customers. Explosive encounter with the creator of Elements.
How was your meeting with Bidart?
Bidart is the center of the Basque Country. You will find the best products from the four corners of the region. I fell in love with this village, neither too big nor too small, which has kept its freshness and authenticity. And I particularly appreciate the contrast between summer and winter, the proximity to the ocean.
What are the places, the meetings that you particularly like?
Without hesitation, the Basque pelota games in the village square. The atmosphere, the intensity, the adversity: everything is there. These are very strong moments for the players and for the public. I am also an absolute fan of the winegrowers ofIrouleguy, too little known for my taste, and I have a particular affection for Corinne, a picker of wild plants established in Arcangues. She knows better than anyone how to explore and reveal the riches of the plant world. Our region is full of these natural treasures. This forces chefs to be very creative. Basically, there are only two kitchens: the good and the bad.
Exactly, what is your approach to cooking?
My philosophy is to bring my clients back to the essential principles. When I was a child, everyone knew which product to buy at a particular time of the year. I want to come back to these fundamentals by offering spontaneous, accessible and grilled cuisine. It's great to be influenced by other gastronomic practices, but we must not forget our know-how. Cooking with embers is part of our peasant traditions. It creates an atmosphere but above all it gives a lot of flavor to the products.
What can we taste at home?
We put forward the products of the country resulting from an organic and reasoned culture: big roux corn and Taloak, Kriaxera duck, pig and beef from the surrounding villages, organic vegetables, chilli and wild herbs. We also cook a lot of hake caught by line, octopus with a landing net or even oxtail. Without forgetting the wine list with a preference for the whites of Irouleguy. We work without a net, often improvising, taking risks in mixing flavors. It's live! Everything is based on the pleasure of the plate and the sincerity of the cuisine. This is what our customers are looking for.
Is that what explains the success of your restaurant?
The whole team is proud to have obtained the title of Best Table of France Fooding 2018. It rewards the quality of our approach centered on ethics and true convictions. I believe in organic, short circuits and seasonal products. I don't like the stuffy mind, I prefer bistronomy. The Restaurant Elements represents it all, in an unpretentious place on the ground floor of a residence.
You are also in charge of Époq in Biarritz… Where do you find this energy?
Epoq, it is indeed a new address with the same approach, the same ethics but in a larger establishment. The energy comes from the people we meet every day, the shots to manage, the pressure of the service and the pleasure of creating new recipes each time. This is the magic of catering. I am also fortunate to be surrounded by a remarkable team led by Benoît Berthail who is not afraid to innovate. From the start, we said to ourselves: take maximum risk. And so far, it's working pretty well!
