Smoked Meat / Published on May 25, 2021
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INTÉRIEURS 74
AFICIONADO
JÉRÔME FERRER: GOOD FOOD, GOOD DESIGN, GOOD FUN!
In the fall of 2019, the INTÉRIEURS team met the great chef Jérôme Ferrer for an Aficionado interview, led by none other than our queen of Smoked Meat, Madeleine Champagne. We met the chef at home, in his home kitchen and discussed his dream of a lifetime achievement, the Jérôme Ferrer – Europea restaurant, a creation of Provencher_Roy.
Then hit March 2020 and the closure of bars and restaurants in the red zone throughout Quebec. From red, soon to orange … from yellow to green expected in the near future, alas, a look back at this unique interview and the meeting of a humble man with contagious passion!
« Cette cuisine est un monde dont la cheminée est le soleil. » – Victor Hugo
Text: Madeleine Champagne. Photos: Shop-Inc.
SOLID
Bright eyes, a sunny smile, a contagious energy, here is Jérôme Ferrer, a great leader and undisputed Chef emeritus.
AT SEVEN… IN THE KITCHEN
It was thanks to Maria, her grandmother of Andalusian origin, responsible for the meals of her family, to whom Jérôme joined as cook, that this love of the table took shape. Especially since, in this kitchen in Narbonne, people sing and dance there, so that Jérôme will forever abandon his toys … for the kitchen: an act, according to him, of love, of sharing, of fancy. A chef was born, bewitched by the magic of the cook.
A CHEF IS BORN
From the age of 15, he attended the prestigious Vatel hotel school, from which he graduated.
If you ask him when he first became interested in design, he will respond fiercely “from my teenage years, in the presentation of my dishes!” Architecture, colors, volumes, everything fascinates him in his profession. “In fact, he adds, for me the plate is like a painting, and my guest must feel in the hollow of his ear the feeling that I imagined it for him.“
IMAGINATION
Of course you won’t be surprised to learn that his favourite painter is the flamboyant Catalan, Salvador Dali, and akin to the artist, his cuisine is spectacular, imaginative, and ready for the long haul.
For example, he’ll cook you a delicious lobster, in a glass coffee maker of Japanese design, and intentionally, have no cheese platter on the menu. Instead, he’ll make a faisselle right under your eyes: A lovely cheese with a creamy and moist texture, it’s divine.
EUROPEA FOREVER
In 2002, chef Jérôme Ferrer left France to settle in Montreal, where he opened Europea while expressing his culinary art in other restaurants. Here, there, everywhere… Ferrer stands out. Design is omnipresent in his career: presentation, cutlery, textures, everything must harmonize.
A RESPECT FOR FOOD QUI PASSE BY DESIGN
To be environmentally conscious is also to take the road to better design. Not wasting anything, encouraging local markets, respecting the seasons, that’s his leitmotiv. He advocates the pleasure of cooking and sharing, as o en as he can, with the upmost fervour, and strives to improve Quebec produce on a daily basis.
CHEFS AS DESIGNERS
It is chefs who, in his opinion, have innovated the design of restaurants, by opening restaurants in barns, sheds, los … it is they who have brought the rooms out of the mold and oriented the attention of the guests towards the food by creating a contrast with the purity of the spaces or in synergy with “lifestyle”.
Il ajoute que ce sont aussi eux qui ont demandé des éclairages plus imaginatifs, plus chaleureux, créé des mises en scène, proposé des thèmes innovants.
He adds that they are also the ones who asked for more imaginative, warmer lighting, created staging, proposed innovative themes. Let’s face it: Jérôme Ferrer believes that those who see restaurants as places where people come to eat are absolutely wrong. For him, a place of food is the supermarket where we go to do our shopping. Restaurants are places of sharing.
EAT WELL SEATED
Chef Ferrer is challenged by a trend that was much discussed at the Feria Habitat de Valencia 2019. It can be summarized by Eat well seated, by Andreu World. That’s the title of a restaurant guide, created with the idea of combining gastronomy with good culinary and creative design. Add to this concept an environmental touch, by using sustainable components, for example chairs made of 100% sustainable wood, and you’re a winner. Berlin, Singapore, London, Madrid, Paris, New York and Brisbane are all on board.
Jérôme Ferrer has integrated this philosophy to a T in his last endeavour, Restaurant Jérôme Ferrer – Europea, on de la Montagne, south of René-Lévesque.
EXCELLENCE APPLIED AT HOME
Eager to have a professionally designed kitchen at home, Ferrer worked with Cuisines Verdun, Miralis and designer Manon Vary, to imagine a kitchen with the latest innovative trends, ergonomics and functionality, built into the plans. Maroline provided most of the impressive kitchen appliances.
His needs were simple: a friendly and contemporary place, a larger, more functional workspace to eventually present his recipes in front of cameras, a full-sized gas stove and the incorporation of a snack board.
His entire new kitchen was built around a huge, multifunctional central is- land. A blend of natural and noble materials, such as wood, stone finishes, metal and smoked glass, were paired with the sobriety of natural colours, ranging from pale to dark. An area made for having lunch or an evening meal, was superimposed onto the second island and a functional wall waiter was added.
Finally, a spectacular hood and a reinterpretation of a 1950s library gave quite a sublime punch, to his new kitchen. Believe me, he is very happy with the results.
