Bruno Verjus, words and facts

I got to know him as a writer, followed him as a TV and radio reporter, admired him as a natural wine fanatic. He’s also an “old” acquaintance of Identità Golose so I suppose that in the circumnavigation of the culinary world most people know him. His decision to become a chef and open his own restaurant, caused quite a lot of clamour, many were perplexed, some spoke ill of this. Two years later, Bruno Verjus is in better shape than ever and continues to lash the consciences of those who sit at his table with words and facts. Indeed it is very true that some loves will change your life.

Where was your huge passion born?
What I’m most interested in the kitchen are the people working there and those who contribute to their work, that is to say artisans. I’m fascinated by those who are capable to consecrate their lives to producing carrots or those who struggle to find mushrooms when in season. There’s something truly touching in all this, a concentrate of determination, culture and great courage.

Was opening a restaurant always in your plans?
Not at all. But I then realised that even though it was very interesting to write about certain products and give a voice to producers, it would be extraordinary to make people experience this in person. At Table we tell these stories and we feed people. It’s a very intimate way of rebuilding, the relationship with food and those who produce it, in a virtuous way.

During your career, you met many exceptional producers. How do you choose your suppliers?
Table has a very open range of collaborators. I soon realised that a restaurant imposes a very strong pressure on an artisan. Therefore I decided to stop ordering things and the rule became that they would give me what they had, in the available quantities, when the product is ready. Because of this, the menu changes daily and depends on what is available to us.

It must be hard to convey in the dish all the culture that is behind it. How do you manage?
I start from writing down the menu. I try to convey my relationship with the world and with the culture behind a the product. The way in which words are intertwined with each other is the first bond with the clients.

What are the essential values at Table?
Our objective in the kitchen is to offer dishes that can be good to those who eat them. Good from a sensorial point of view, with healthy, lively products, rich in energy and in all that the artisans have been capable of conveying into them.

After two years, what has changed?
The concept is the same, I’ve changed. When I started, I didn’t really know how to work in the kitchen. I knew how to cook for myself, for my friends. Serving two shifts in a restaurant, everyday, is a very different thing! Today I have an extraordinary experience that allows me to go further and do many things that I wanted to analyse deeply, with more ease and elegance. The hardest thing is preserving enough energy for the five hundred dishes we serve daily.

TABLE
3 rue de Prague – 75012 Paris
+33.0143431226
info@tablerestaurant.fr