In 1973, Anne-Sophie Pic was worried, demanding, and constantly seeking the best when the death of her father, chef Jacques Pic, left her running the kitchens. This fragility of a self-taught artist has allowed her to endlessly reevaluate herself. The meeting of her husband also proved to be a fortuitous one: at his side, Anne-Sophie Pic imagined her eponymous restaurant as a timeless, intimate, and cozy bubble that would open up to the gardens. “A gourmet restaurant has to tell a true story, the story of a place, of a dish, of a chef,” once said Anne-Sophie Pic. That’s why the space is organized around a crystal chandelier that separates the room into three separate spaces, each illuminated in turn by huge windows. But Pic’s touch resides in her choice of quality products: from Emerald coast shells to Velay sweetbread, her culinary ecstasy comes together around blue lobster, berries, and celery. “I created the berry lobster 10 years ago and it quickly became our signature dish. Back then, I imagined uniting the tartness of woodland strawberry, raspberry, and blackcurrant with the spiciness of pepper and the vivacity of celery.”
Three stars in the Michelin Guide later, Anne-Sophie Pic is now offering a reinterpretation of this borderline iconic lobster. A tasteful translation of her culinary evolution, it’s the result of a minute work with sauces. The chef is seeking ever more harmony, down to the very last note of the sauces. Stripped of butter and oil to concoct something closer to nature, Anne-Sophie Pic takes interest in the vivacity and quintessence of each taste. For this lobster, she imagined a berry dashi. Dashi is a broth of kombu algae and dried shavings of bonito, the base of Japanese cuisine. On the plate, the lobster rests on a bed of fresh red fruits, beets accompanied by chutney, and berry dashi. The taste experience mixes the smoky taste of the dashi and the tart flavor of the fruits, taken to the next level by the sourness of the barberry… It’s an explosion of flavor that plays with bitterness, tartness, and smokiness. This is a precious platter, but Anne-Sophie Pic also joins the cohort of great chefs that have embarked on off-label cuisine, like Paul Bocuse or Sébastien Bras. With her Daily Pic, the chef brings the idea of a “gourmet cafeteria” to Valence, France with a prime location at 3 Place Championnet.
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