Interview with Brice Lallement of L'Assiette Champenoise
May 11, 2021
by Justine Puaud
Gala Dinner of La Fête du Champagne 2019
Brice Lallement is a chef and the son of Chef Arnaud Lallement of L’Assiette Champenoise, a Michelin three-starred restaurant just outside of Reims in Champagne.
What have you been doing during the pandemic?
The hotel was open but Dad decided to close the restaurant until further notice. Many Michelin starred restaurants decided to offer takeout to their clientele but we see takeout as a completely different experience. When you go to a Michelin star restaurant you go not only for the food but for the entire culinary experience. We didn’t want first time clients to miss out on what it feels like to eat at L’Assiette Champenoise.
However, we have been busy! We completely renovated the main dining room with a beautiful marble fireplace and stone walls for a warm and convivial atmosphere. In addition to that, I spent quite a bit of time driving around Champagne and visiting winemakers such as Vincent Laval and Anselme and Guillaume Selosse. I also met fantastic people who are part of the next generation like Paul Gosset and Antoine Bouvet. We also went to the Rhône Valley to visit Domaine Trevallon and Roc d’Anglade.
Can I say that L’Assiette Champenoise is a family affair?
Definitely! The whole story started in the seventies. My grandfather was working for Chef Roger Vergé of Moulin de Mougins. In 1974, they decided to go back to Champagne when my grandmother was pregnant with my dad. A year later, they built the restaurant which was in Merfy (close to Domaine Chartogne-Taillet). Papi [my grandfather Jean-Pierre Lallement] got his first Michelin star in 1976. He unfortunately lost it a few years later. In 1980, they moved the restaurant to its current location in Tinqueux and built a Relais & Chateaux establishment. Papa became the Chef of L'Assiette Champenoise in 1997. In 2001, Papa got his first Michelin star. Four years later he received a second star and in 2014, he received a 3rd star. Papi would have been really proud. My grandmother is not working at L’Assiette anymore but she stops by every day. L’Assiette Champenoise is part of her life or should I say it is the love of her life. My dad grew up within these walls and I did too.
When did you decide to become a chef?
I was around 15 years old when I knew I wanted to be a chef. One day during an interview, César Troisgros (of the famous Troisgros family of chefs) said something that I couldn't agree with more: “As you are growing up, so many people around you keep saying you will be a chef like your dad without asking you if you want to be a chef. And when you are a teenager you start to assert yourself and the only thing you DO NOT want to do is to be a chef like your dad… but there is this feeling inside of you… You grew up in a kitchen, you know the kitchen and you know that the only thing you want to do is to cook like your family did.”
What is your general culinary philosophy?
Cook local products and respect those products. At L’Assiette Champenoise, all our products and ingredients are coming from local farmers. We love our region and we want our clientele to understand Champagne when they come to L’Assiette Champenoise. My last internship was at Manresa, Chef David Kinch’s restaurant in California. I learnt a lot there and I loved it because he was sharing the same philosophy. I remember going to the farmers market with Chef every day. One day, he brought me to see an old friend. We drove for about 2 hours to Los Gatos to visit a producer of citrus fruits. This 80 year old man was living on the top of a hill and had been growing citrus for 60 years. It was absolutely magical!
What methods do you implement to cut down on food waste at the restaurant?
First of all, there is an economic reality. You cannot spend, for example, 100 euros on a lamb if you only want to take the filets.. We cook everything! The filets are for the restaurant, the legs are for the staff meal, the bones will make a terrific sauce and we keep the lamb shoulders to make a hachi parmentier (shepherd's pie) with mashed carrots. We are also raising chickens in the garden of L’Assiette Champenoise and also have a compost site.
Do you see haute cuisine as something that can exist without animal products in the years to come?
I saw recently that Chef Daniel Humm is relaunching Eleven Madison Park as an all-vegan restaurant. I would say I am going to miss his honey roasted dry-aged duck… Personally, I think it is really important to build awareness and share information about where you source your products instead of just taking meat out of your menu. The famous butcher Alexandre Polmard has been providing meat to L’Assiette Champenoise for years. Papa loves that man and trusts him. Alexandre was the first one who built his own and private slaughterhouse so he could control everything. Additionally, I think people go to Michelin starred restaurants to eat products they cannot find anywhere else. I’m thinking about turbot, for example. It is really hard to find in a regular fish market and it is even harder to cook it.
Like your father, you love wine. What is your favorite wine?
As you know in France you start tasting wine when you are pretty young. I was 15 years old when my dad brought me to some wineries. I remember like it was yesterday when he said to me: “ Brice, Champagne is a word which is known internationally. You need to know your region and you need to know how we make Champagne!” This is how it started… I developed a big passion about Champagnes. There is such a huge diversity that I cannot tell you which one is my favorite. Last week I tasted Mont Benoit from Savart and Mont Benoit from Brochet and they were both so different.
Besides Champagnes, I recently had a very emotional experience with a Domaine de la Grange des Pères 1996…
Travel alert!
Americans will be able to travel to France with a proof of vaccination. It’s time to plan your trip to Champagne and have a fantastic culinary experience at L’Assiette Champenoise.
Interview has been translated and edited for clarity and length.
Each dish hides a story. This is the traditional lobster dish created by Brice’s grandfather.