Emmanuel Tresmontant - 2011-07-18

The Breton chef Patrick Jeffroy was born in Morlaix. As lively and feisty as a crab, but also as generous as the sea and the land that give life to his cuisine Jeffroy is a man that personifies his native Brittany.

In this film, he shows us "the True Bretons," isolated at the end of their peninsula, and who, in the absence of wheat, were once limited to eating rye pancakes.

Morlaix Bay is one of the most beautiful bays in the world. "At low tide, it looks like a Japanese garden, with its islets and scattered rocks." The best known of these is the château du Taureau: a citadel built in the 17th century which can be reached by a 15 minute boat journey from Carantec.

Here in Carantec, the sea feeds the land, with the algae gathered on its beaches fertilising the fields. However the land also feeds the sea, as evidenced by the fresh water rivers, rich in alluvial deposits, that give an extra-special flavour to the flat and rounded oysters farmed in the bay by Jean-Jacques Cadoret.

 

Another Breton delight for Jeffroy is the traditionally made butter of Elizabeth Huon in Plouigneau. A native of Nice, this woman who married a Breton has restored Finistère's flagship product to its former glory. Her secret? 45 Normandy cows grazing on grass and hay alone. The milk they produce is thinner, yet is more concentrated and flavoursome. Twice a week, Elizabeth makes crème fraîche which she churns herself. She separates out the delicious and slightly salty buttermilk and the remaining butter is then lightly salted and formed into rounds before finally being sold in the market at Morlaix.

 

 

 

Château du Taureau 

 

 

Élisabeth Huon at Plouigneau