A Trip to Mont-Saint-Michel (for a Culinary Battle in La Mère Poulard’s Kitchen)
Last month, I was invited to take part in an incredible culinary battle at Mont-Saint-Michel, at the Auberge de La Mère Poulard. A golden opportunity I simply couldn’t pass up! If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you’ve probably already seen a few photos from the event. It was high time I told you all about it in detail. But where to begin?
With a little history… Mont-Saint-Michel welcomes more than 3 million visitors a year. Listed as a Historic Monument and inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, you understand perfectly why the moment you arrive at the foot of the Mont — majestic… I visited several times as a teenager, but bear in mind that 1. that was a long time ago and 2. Mont-Saint-Michel has changed a great deal in recent years with the famous “restoration of the tidal character” project on the rock.
The Auberge de La Mère Poulard is a legendary place. Nestled in the heart of the medieval village of Mont-Saint-Michel, this establishment with its distinctive red facade attracts tourists from all over the world. A little anecdote: it was in 1888 that Annette and her husband Victor Poulard opened their inn to welcome hungry pilgrims. She made them her famous soufflé omelette, cooked over a wood fire. La Mère Poulard’s fame soon spread around the world. To this day, the omelette is still prepared in the purest tradition: you can watch the eggs being beaten in rhythm with a long whisk in a large copper bowl.
Tradition and authenticity are the watchwords of this history-laden place. I loved the inn, just as I loved stepping into the kitchen. The hotel is full of charm too. Going up the staircase that leads to the breakfast room, the piano bar and then up to the bedrooms, you discover walls covered in paintings alongside photos and signatures of the celebrities who have stayed at the inn.
And what about the battle? We had to create a recipe for 6 people in 1 hour, using set ingredients including two La Mère Poulard biscuits. And an exceptional jury was there to judge us: Philippe Urraca, MOF Pastry Chef and President of the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France in pastry (whom you may well have seen in the show “Who will be the next great pastry chef?” on France 2), Martial Enguehard, Meilleur Ouvrier de France Chef, and Alain Grespier (Head Chef at the Auberge de La Mère Poulard). Quite a panel!
And because I can never keep things short, here is a detailed look behind the scenes of this gourmet getaway to Mont-Saint-Michel…
Wednesday 1st June, I hit the road with my other half (who was given permission to come along — I wouldn’t have managed the journey on my own!). We arrived at around 5pm at the Mont-Saint-Michel relay. There, I met Gilles, our guide for the next 2 days, as well as the other bloggers (I recognised a few familiar faces ^^): Emilie (Aime Mange), Carine (Chic Chic Chocolat), Albane (Eat me Baby), Aurélie (Lilie Bakery), Cécile (Royal Chill), Céline (Frappée par la Food) , Sandra (encore un gâteau), Dominique (Chef Dodo), Lilou (Lilou et l’heure du thé), Séverine (Délices et pâtisseries) et Magali (Mag’cuisine). We were handed the programme for the “weekend” — it was simply incredible!
Photo credit: Stéphane Peres
Before heading to Mont-Saint-Michel and the Auberge de La Mère Poulard, we started with a visit to the Couesnon dam. Gilles stepped in for the planned guide and told us about the Mont’s great ecological project. We boarded the shuttle that took us to Mont-Saint-Michel. The Hôtel-Restaurant La Mère Poulard was the first establishment we saw. And there we were, finally, in front of that legendary red facade. We were handed the key to our room (with an incredible view over the bay) and had a few minutes to get settled before heading to the piano bar for drinks.
It was quite something to find ourselves there… bloggers, journalists, a photographer… The place was buzzing. The jury was there, along with the CEO of the La Mère Poulard group, the marketing director and Gilles! It was time to get to know one another over a glass of La Mère Poulard cider and a few canapés. Then, champagne!!!
Photo credit: Stéphane Peres
Photo credit: Stéphane Peres
Photo credit: Séverine (Délices et pâtisseries)
Then it was time for dinner at the Auberge de La Mère Poulard. We passed of course in front of the “omelette beaters” — a special moment that tourists wouldn’t miss for the world. Chef Alain Grespier had put together a wonderful menu for the occasion. For me, it was duck confit rillettes, pistachio chicken terrine, homemade duck foie gras as a starter; rack of lamb with Annette potato and rosemary jus as a main (I didn’t go for the traditional omelette!) and mini crème brûlée, apple crumble and chocolate tartlet for dessert.
With my dinner companions (Céline, Lilou, Séverine, her husband and my other half), we had a wonderful time (and a truly wonderful evening)! We now knew the order for the next day’s battle: I was in team 2 (8am to 9am) along with Céline, Séverine and Emilie.
Photo credit: Stéphane Peres
The chefs seemed just as happy to be there as we were, and the atmosphere was all smiles and good humour. It was lovely to see the chefs so approachable and warm!
Photo credit: Stéphane Peres
An already incredible evening that ended with a night-time tour of the lit-up ramparts and Mont-Saint-Michel. A magical moment, it has to be said. We really felt privileged to be there, at night, with no tourists around. That evening, the Mont was all ours…
Photo credit: Stéphane Peres
Photo credit: Stéphane Peres
Photo credit: Céline (Frappée par la Food) / Séverine (Délices et pâtisseries)
Photo credit: Séverine (Délices et pâtisseries)
The next morning, 7am. Short night (tiredness and nerves). I went downstairs for breakfast and met up with Séverine, Céline and Emilie. The buffet was quite incredible! I grabbed a few pastries and a hot chocolate but before long, you could feel the nerves rising.
8am. I headed down to the La Mère Poulard kitchens. The previous group made way for us. The chefs were there and explained how the challenge would work. We had 15 minutes to set up, during which we could choose all the ingredients we needed for our dessert. With hindsight, I lost time because I didn’t weigh my ingredients straight away (and besides, one set of scales for 4 motivated and nervous bloggers isn’t very practical). Strawberries, limes, biscuits, cream, mascarpone, eggs, flour, cider… everything was on my tray and I got settled at my workstation. The kitchen was impressive — not easy to find your bearings.
Photo credit: Cécile (Royal Chill)
I’d had time to think of a recipe and test it once before coming (this battle landed at the same time as my school inspection — gulp!). My instinct was straight away to make a strawberry-based dessert, my favourite fruit, even if it isn’t very original (those chefs have seen a lot of strawberries!). At home, I timed myself and everything was ready in 40-45 minutes. So I thought to myself that maybe I was making something too simple (a crumbled sablé base, strawberry compote and diced strawberries, vanilla and lime whipped cream, fresh strawberries and cider jelly). Well, with hindsight, I’d have been better off sticking with the “simple” approach. Because in an unfamiliar kitchen, with unfamiliar equipment (plus, not all the necessary equipment was available…) not to mention the stress of the battle… I think I would have comfortably made the 1 hour.
But at the last minute (or nearly), I decided to add a little extra: an almond fondant on top of the biscuit base. An extra preparation — but more importantly, something that needed baking! Time flies, that’s for sure! And in the end, 1 hour is a touch on the tight side. Now I completely understand the Top Chef contestants running around :O You don’t want to waste a single minute. I could see I was falling behind, and even though my strawberries were cut and ready to go on the cake, and my cider jelly was in the fridge, I still had to wait for the biscuit to finish baking. Not to mention the whipped cream that still hadn’t been whipped! But with almost all of us needing the KitchenAid at the same time, one bowl just wasn’t going to cut it!
Photo credit: Cécile (Royal Chill)
I’m still grateful to the chefs for their kindness and especially their help, because during the challenge they were a bit like our sous-chefs. Honestly… “Chef, I need a zester!”, “Chef, that goes in the oven for about 15 minutes”, “Thank you, Chef!” etc… How cool! 🙂 And it was especially Chef Martial Enguehard who helped me: to prepare my ring mould for baking the almond biscuit and, most importantly, to whip the mascarpone cream by hand!
Thankfully we were given a few extra minutes to finish. Just enough time to plate everything (in a rush, let’s be honest) and add my cider jelly cubes (which I nearly forgot). The result looks veeery different from what I had in mind (which tells me I should have stuck with my first, simpler idea) but at least everything was there!
We quickly cleaned up our workstations (not unlike what I’m capable of at home — stuff everywhere :O) to make way for the third group, and stepped outside for a breather. The pressure was off. It was time for a few souvenir photos of the four of us, and with the chefs.
Then came the interview, right after the challenge! Nice, even if I’m not entirely comfortable with that kind of thing.
We then headed back up to the breakfast room to sit down, have a coffee and a pastry and wait patiently for the third group to finish.
At around 11am, we headed back down. Everyone had finished and it was time to lay all the desserts out on the table. It was also the moment to see what the other bloggers had made. And there were some truly beautiful creations! Each blogger collected her dish to bring it through to the breakfast room. Being the blogger I am, it was also a perfect moment for souvenir photos — and it’s reassuring at this kind of event that I’m not the only one 😉
Photo credit: Stéphane Peres
Group photo with the chefs. We were politely asked to leave them to it — time for the tasting.
Photo credit: Stéphane Peres
Photo credit: Stéphane Peres
Photo credit: Stéphane Peres
An entirely different adventure awaited us: the guided crossing of the Mont-Saint-Michel bay. A first for me! We left the hotel barefoot, rolled up our trousers as best we could, and off we went! It wasn’t easy for me (on top of my back pain, I was dealing with aches all over my body — right down to my fingertips — another first). But it’s the kind of adventure I won’t be doing again any time soon, so I pushed through, as usual. I have absolutely no regrets! The guide revealed lots of little secrets about the Mont and the tides.
Twice we had to cross the currents, which were extremely strong. The water came above the knee (never mind the trousers) and you had to keep your balance and keep moving! The current makes a deafening noise, and beware if you’re prone to vertigo.
Photo credit: Céline (Frappée par la Food)
Photo credit: Céline (Frappée par la Food)
Can you spot who’s lagging behind in the second photo? (On zooming in, I noticed I was sticking my tongue out — true story! :P) We then discovered the “quicksand” — it’s quite remarkable to see the ground shift so easily underfoot and your feet disappear so quickly.
12 bloggers gathered in the same place — things could quickly get a little wild (in the best possible way!). Gilles managed to capture this wonderful atmosphere!
Photo credit: Gilles (cropped)
Photo credit: Cécile (Royal Chill)
Back at the Auberge de La Mère Poulard (after queuing to rinse our feet), we took refuge in the last 2 available rooms to get changed. Time for lunch — Chef Alain Grespier had once again prepared a wonderful meal: beef fillet with pepper sauce and old-fashioned chips, followed by a sweet omelette with caramelised apples. I still have a delicious memory of the beef fillet, but I can’t say the same of the omelette. I’m already not a fan of savoury omelettes, so the sweet version really wasn’t for me. Others loved it, though.
Photo credit: Stéphane Peres
It was time for the results to be announced and diplomas presented in the piano bar of the inn, after a brief speech from the chefs. The atmosphere was in keeping with this gourmet getaway — warm and wonderfully good-natured. That’s really what I’ll take away from these 2 days: laughter and good spirits with the other bloggers and with the chefs.
Photo credit: Stéphane Peres
Photo credit: Stéphane Peres
The verdict: it was Carine from the blog Chic Chic Chocolat who won the culinary battle (her dessert was truly sublime). You’ll find the recipe on her blog 🙂 We then had the chance to chat with the chefs, comfortably settled in the piano bar. A wonderfully relaxed moment to get to know them a little better and ask all the questions we had in mind.
As for me, I left with a basket full of La Mère Poulard products, but above all with memories, more than you can imagine! It was simply a fabulous experience in an exceptional setting (a moment I was lucky enough to share with my other half, no less).
Last photos before saying goodbye to the chefs and the girls.
A visit to the Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey with a guide had been planned next, but due to my health issues, I wasn’t able to make the climb.
We left the rock for good to head to the car park… by horse-drawn carriage! A last romantic moment together, enjoying every second <3
- Marie Delsaux, Community Manager for Mont-Saint-Michel and the Biscuiterie La Mère Poulard, for inviting me to this event,
- Chefs Philippe Urraca, Martial Enguehard and Alain Grespier for their generosity, kindness and good humour,
- the Auberge de La Mère Poulard and their whole team for such a warm welcome,
- the agency Media Ventilo who handled the organisation (Gilles, and also Stéphane, from whom I borrowed many photos for this article)
- my fellow blogger friends, because we really had a wonderful time together! (and because I borrowed a few of their photos too :P)
For those who are curious, you can watch the official video of this culinary battle by clicking here.
https://www.facebook.com/Biscuiterie.MerePoulard/videos/1348780665137480/