At 63 years of age, Jean-Marie Amat is an atypical chef who has to be “placed” within the landscape of French gastronomy. Spearheading the Ducasse generation, Amat was considered in the 1980s-90s to be one of the ten greatest chefs in the world.

 

Founder of the Saint-James in Bouliac, near Bordeaux, he found fame there before being pushed out, for obscure reasons, by his main shareholder.

 

Then followed a period in the wilderness, depression, oblivion. Other young talents emerged and attempted – sometimes successfully – to restore to Aquitaine its lost stars (such as Michel Portos, Thierry Marx and Philippe Etchebest). During this time, Jean-Marie Amat was, nonetheless, getting ready for battle and preparing for his return… in the Château du Prince Noir!

Standing opposite the bridge of Aquitaine, this strange fortress, home to Édouard de Woodstock (one of the most bloodthirsty figures of the Hundred Years’ War), has in fact been restored, housing Jean-Marie Amat’s new restaurant since last year. Its outbuildings (listed as Historical Monuments) serve as the setting for a vast contemporary and luminous decor, displaying the chef’s taste for books and paintings.

 

Jean-Marie Amat is not content with just being in the kitchens, he is also a thinker who has written several reference books on cuisine as an art of living*. “Eating alone,” he explains “goes against nature! Cuisine has enabled man’s greatest discovery: others.” Eating, far from the ceremony that has taken hold of gastronomy, is therefore also about talking, making exchanges, sharing common emotions…

 

Amat’s restaurant is all about light and simplicity. The service is fast and the menu short, legible and devoid of pompous names. No appetizers to spoil the palate – it’s straight down to business! His cuisine stands out for its purity, clarity and elegance. Whether it be his fresh foie gras with seasonal fruits or his pigeon grilled with spices, the flavours combine with distinction and naturalness.

 

But you will probably find the greatest thrill in his lobster salad, dubbed “comme dans un jardin” (“as if in a garden”). The Breton lobster, cooked in its juices, goes wonderfully well with diced courgette with a slightly iodised taste. To wash it all down, Jean-Marie Amat introduced me to a wonderful little 2005 Sauvignon from the Ampelidae wine estate, founded by Frédéric Brochet near Poitiers. Very dry and fruity, this wine full of freshness boasts an exceptional aromatic range capable of accompanying the powerful lobster.

 *Such as “Pour une nouvelle physiologie du goût” (Towards a New Physiology of Taste), Editions Odile Jacob, written in collaboration with neurobiologist Jean-Didier Vincent.