7-HOUR LEG OF LAMB
In the kitchen of the historic Château d’Issan in Margaux, cooking is guided by the bounty of the seasons. Estate head chef Frédéric Braud shares his deceptively simple recipe for tender lamb slow-roasted in red wine gravy, choosing two wines to complement the dish
Almost every day since 2014, I’ve followed a morning ritual before getting down to the business of cooking: walking along the main drive, then skirting around the castle alongside the moat, I feast my eyes on it all. I look over to my left at the kitchen garden and greet the estate gardener Yves, who’s never far from here. Then I take the stairs, decorated with hunting trophies, and take stock of this place, which could be a stage set were it not so legendary. Walking past masterpieces and family photos to get to the kitchen, I stop to discuss forthcoming receptions with Virginie and Emmanuel [Cruse, owners of Château d’Issan]. Then I start setting up with Alexandra, the hospitality manager, who’s beginning to assemble Issan’s famous blue tableware. I make sure that, in addition to dealing with the thousand other things for which she’s responsible, Clarisse, the estate’s Jill of all trades, will be able to produce the customised table menus for the next reception. It’s now 8.30am.
If it’s an autumn morning, I’ll be pondering the grape harvesters’ lunch; if a winter morning, I’ll be thinking about Yves, who’ll soon be bringing back a hare from the hunt that we’ll turn into a sublime lièvre à la royale; if it’s a spring morning, I’ll make time to take the vineyard workers some brioche pain perdu; if it’s a summer morning, I’ll make mille-feuilles with raspberries from the kitchen garden, which Virginie loves, and distribute them to the office staff for tea.
Moments like these, when we take a pause in our busy days to share a simple pleasure, are priceless. At Issan, the days go by, each one different from the last, causing us to be curious and inventive; to question our knowledge and skills and listen to the seasons, the local produce, fruit, vegetables and game; to take note of what’s happening elsewhere, in the countries of origin of the international clientele that the Château d’Issan welcomes at its table; and to develop a cuisine that bears no resemblance to anyone else’s, but that speaks to everyone.