Reading Time: 6 minutes

The Leman Lake region has a magnificence landscape. The lake and the surrounding mountains makes this region a very special place to be. Nature is not the only amazing topic you can find here around. Gastronomy is also that traditionally is anchored in the region. One of the stars is Stéphane Décotterd and his restaurant Le Pont de Brent. LuxuryActivist experienced this culinary journey thanks to the Nespresso Gourmet weeks and here below the narration of this exquisite adventure.

Le-Pont-de-Brent

How to describe the amazing story of Stéphane Decotterd? He was born in Fribourg in 1976. He is only 15 years old when he starts his apprenticeship at Le Petit, à Saint-Légier, chez André Minder. After a solid experience at Relais&Chateaux and a restaurant in Le Grisons, he work for Le Pont de Brent in 2005. It is actually his second time at this restaurant in the highs of Montreux. 2008 he wins the KADI for Best Swiss-Chef. This award opens the doors for the worldwide competition, Bocuse d’Or and he finishes in the top 5 best chefs in the world. In January 2011, Stéphane Decotterd takes over Le Pont de Brent. In October in the same year he gets a 18/20 in the Gault Millau and one month later 2 Michelin stars. Since then, his amazing and continuous work makes Le Pont de Brent as one of the best restaurants in Switzerland and probably one of the best in Europe.

Pont-de-Brent-Stephane-Decotterd

Pont-de-Brent-ambiance-room

Pont-de-Brent-ambiancePont-de-Brent-Champagne

During the Nespresso Gourmet weeks, LuxuryActivist was lucky to have diner at Le Pont de Brent and the culinary journey was outstanding. Here more details about the exquisite dishes we got and the attentions to details that every single gesture, presentation or contact had. Truly one of the best experiences ever.

The first minutes when you open the door and enter in this restaurant is a feeling of “welcome”. In deed, you have more the feeling to be invited to an elegant friends home than a regular restaurant. The personnel who welcomes you are very smiling and they are truly happy to welcome you. There are not too many tables so there is a private feeling, yet quite friendly so you would feel at easy to talk normally to the people having lunch or diner with you. Natural materials like wood and stone are happily placed together to give you the warm feeling of a timeless elegance. Everything is very chic but un a natural and authentic way. We were there on a Friday evening, so it was the best way to finish the week. We discovered an amazing culinary experience driven by the creative mind of Stéphane Decotterd.

Pont-de-Brent-bread

At Le Pont de Brent, every single detail counts. From the bread, made by a proud artisan from the village to the Swiss cheese, one better than the other, you feel the passion for high quality ingredients and the aim to honor the people who have been producing them. Stéphane Décottard cherish a daily relationship with his suppliers, so that he can propose the very best. The different discussions also bring innovative and creative ideas.

Le Maki de Biche d’Ecosse, Crème de Foie Gras et crumble d’Espresso Origin Brazil

Maki-de-Biche-Ecosse-Foie-Gras-Pont-de-Brent

With this starter, our Swiss Chef re-interpretates the deer from Scotland in a Japanese style by rolling it façon-maki. Then, the originality takes also place by blending Foie Gras and a Espresso Origin Brazil by Nespresso. It is said that this coffee is sweet and satiny smoothly. A pure Arabica coffee, Espresso Origin Brazil is a delicate blend with a smooth texture and an elegantly mild and sweet flavor enhanced by a note of lightly toasted grain.

Le coeur de Lieu jaune de Loctudy, Emulsion de lait de coco, coriandre et Citronnelle.

Coeur-de-lieu-jaune-Loctudy

The lieu Jaune, Pollachius pollachius, or The Atlantic pollock is a very interesting fish. It’s flesh is consistent and resists well cooking yet its taste is delicate and subtle. Here the fish is served with an emulsion of coconut milk, coriander and lemongrass. East meets West. Very flavory and tasty. Perfect to start. Loctudy is a place in Brittany-France. It is well known for the quality and the freshness of the fish, so here we had an amazing Pollock.

L’Epaule d’Agneau de lait de Sisteron confite, Ras el Hanout, pois chiches et Panisse.

Epaule-d-agneau-de-lait-sisteron

The following dish is young Lamb from Sisteron, Ras el Hanout, chickpeas and Panisse. The Lamb is candied so the blend with the chickpeas is amazing. A very colorful dish that definitely brought a water-mouthering effect.  The Panisse is an interesting recipe from the South of France, based on chickpeas. Why Lamb from Sisteron? Well because probably it is one of the best in the world. The Lamb from the Sisteron region lives between 70 to 150 days. They are all fed with maternal milk for a minimum of 60 days. Then they eat herbs and straw, and can get cereals as complement. The sheep need to be on the fields a minimum of 6 month per year. It has to be 10 sheep by ha and the surface needs to be a minimum of 10ha and be a natural field. Only all these conditions can give the label of Sisteron’s Lamb.

Le Praliné de Noisette du Piémont et “Nespresso Pur Arabica”, biscuit-éponge au Citron et Sorbet.

Praliné-noisette-piemont-nespresso-pur-arabica

There is a very strong tradition in Piemont for chestnuts. People there are very proud of their chesnuts and they use it very often in the kitchen. Stéphane Décotterd re-imagine this ingredient with the association of Coffee and lemon. It was an incredible firework at the end of our culinary journey. Naturally we gave the final touch with a Nespresso Grand Cru to wrap up the meal.

Pont-de-Brent-Coffee

If you wish to discover more about Le Pont de Brent, here are some practical information you might need:

Le Pont de Brent
1817 Brent
Tél. 021 964 52 30
info@lepontdebrent.ch
http://www.lepontdebrent.ch

Read more about Stéphane Décotterd by discovering this exclusive interview of him for LuxuryActivist.com. Click here.
If you want to know more about Stéphane Decotterd and his universe, you can follow his activities on his blog. Yes he has a very interesting blog in which he shares his passion for beautiful food and even some recipes! http://stephanedecotterd.com

LA

Pont-de-Brent-bread

Info sourced at Le Pont de Brent experience and website. Many thanks to CoolBrandz for the opportunity. All content is copyrighted with no reproduction rights available. Images are for illustration purposes only.