Estaminets, la magie des bistrots du Nord – Documentaire Gastronomie et Art de vivre – MG

Estaminets, la magie des bistrots du Nord – Documentaire Gastronomie et Art de vivre – MG

There are a lot of people who come
from outside, friends from all over France. They want to see it first, to
stun them. Yes, yes, yes. Tremendous. Push open the door of a tavern. Dining is like taking
a trip down memory lane. By candlelight,
in a setting made of bricks and broques, we have fun, we laugh, we taste an abbey beer and we savor the generous cuisine of the North. This is local. We must say what is. Every weekend,
these small inns nestled in the heart of villages and countryside
are stormed. I come often, yes. Since opening day. With family or friends,
people come from all over France to discover the estaminets. Like that of Paul and Clementin. At 21 and 23 years old, they have just taken over
one of the most authentic establishments in the region. Or that of Thierry, the barber. In 20 years, he has never shaved anyone,
but he won the title of vice-world champion in Potchevlech. It’s a European competition,
but since in other countries they don’t do Potchevlech,
we allow ourselves to say that we are vice-world champions. Ludovic left his job as a postman
to take over one of the oldest, which has a Flanders tavern. Where I won was when I saw
everyone talking together from one table to another. When you see that someone was buying a drink
, and they said: Bye, see you next time.
There, that’s good. At Jean-François’s, time has stood still. Miss Universe even worked there. Gilles is the author
of the Bible des Estaminets. All year round, he travels the region
in search of the best addresses. We tour the taverns, the real ones.
Real ones? Yes, yes, yes. As for Stéphane,
he surprised everyone by opening a tavern in the heart of Lyon. From time to time, we have people from Lyon, and
especially a few Ch’tis who come to visit us. That’s really nice, though. This allows them
to find their sense of self again. How are they? It’s okay, bye. We just ate Welsh. Cassel, the French people’s favorite village in 2018, is nicknamed the Everest of Flanders. Culminating at 176 meters,
the mountain has long attracted residents of the Lille metropolis,
50 kilometers away. At the beginning of the last century,
people came here to breathe the fresh air and drink the ferruginous water. Today, people come here
mainly for these taverns. We were
looking for a restaurant where we ate good food, we
said to ourselves: We’ll go to Mont Cassel. A tavern is always good. With good beer, it’s perfect
for a family lunch. The Castelloff is one of the
highest estaminets in Cacel. Its ascent,
like that of the mountain, is earned. Yes, that’s it. We all are. Welcome, hello.
Good morning. Hello Mrs. Hello everyone and welcome. Welcome to the Flanders. Here, I’ll give you some little games. Little Flemish games. In a tavern,
it is customary to challenge each other to old-fashioned games, such as Nicolas billiards. And the house aperitif, chicory wine. They arrived opposite. I think you didn’t understand the point of the game. You’re the youngest. So what’s the point of the game? It’s about putting the ball, obviously,
in the hole, and whoever has it in the hole gets a fine. Are these games that have been around
for a long time? Yes, for a very long time. Yes yes. For ages. I played that, indeed,
and I’m going to be 87 soon. So. In the room, we have fun. In the kitchen, Clémentin
and his team are busy. Beer dishes are simmering
and pies are fresh out of the oven. We cook all our meals at home,
using fresh produce. Among our most typical dishes,
which truly represent the estaminet, is the broken heart. This is a puff pastry
on which we placed a pork sausage cooked with beer, onions, and bacon. And on top, we cover a
warm homemade apple compote with apples from our garden. A maroilles gratin,
here, we see some. This might look a bit
like a Maroilles tartiflette. It’s excellent with potato strips
, pork always cooked in beer,
it’s the basis of Flemish cuisine. A veal sauté with sage
that is simmering. And a Flemish carbonade, the same,
typical of the region, beef collar, cooked with beer, onion,
a slightly sweet sauce with gingerbread, brown beer and a
little brown sugar. And with our fresh fries,
we pick them up every day from our small producer, at the bottom of Cassel. Flemish stew. Once. Well, madam, once and twice. Enjoy your food. We see it better in the North than in Paris. The meat is creamy. No ? And a little sweet and salty. It’s very, very good. It’s like Perfect, just the way we like it. On the ground floor,
Paul takes care of his customers. Do you have enough
fries, ladies and gentlemen? Everything is fine ? I brought you a little game. This is a game
called shut the box. So it’s a Flemish game. So, we’re going to do an example. Here, for example,
you have two solutions. Either you do the four and the five,
so you open that box, or you decide to do
the addition and you open the nine. Up to you. The score to beat is 18. It’s not the biggest.
It’ll be OK. THANKS.
Good evening, this is your friend. We’re done, it’s the
friendly side, a little bit. It is also a return to the roots,
to the traditional roots of Flanders. So we eat there, we have typical dishes,
traditional cuisine. Then we have this decor
which is quite atypical. Not everyone gets
to see this every day. So we have a few hats,
old enamel pots that remind us of memories
from the old days. And then we have a bit of this conviviality. We see people a little, people
are quite close to each other. And then, of course, this
breathtaking view over the entire Flemish plain. Flemish taverns are located on both sides of the border
between France and Belgium. Every Sunday evening,
regulars meet at the barber’s on the Belgian side. A colorful tavern,
run by Thierry, a French expatriate. Please, Bernard. Toasting with an empty glass
is sad all the same. I’m taking advantage of it. Please
. THANKS.
GOOD. Well, we have all the heart.
Okay, thank you. The border is 70 meters away here. We are on the Belgian side here, absolutely.
Yes ? So, you speak all languages? Mainly Dutch,
Finnish, Flemish and especially French.
I am of French origin. There is a bit of Belgian adoption now. And how did you learn? I took night classes. And then the rest, at the counter,
happens in Belgium. GOOD. There is a problem, but Douman, to be continued. What can I
get you, please? I’ll get you some sparkling water. Sparkling water, perfect. So, please. His wife doesn’t know he
‘s at the cafe, right? Oh well, cheers then, friends. Health, happiness and good humor, above all. I think we feel good here, yes. It’s me who tries to make the connection
a little, you see, with Toussaint. Let’s say it’s about making the mayonnaise take. You see,
we are not in the city center, we are in the middle of the fields, there.
Have you seen? There is plenty of countryside here. That’s what feels good. It’s out of the ordinary. It was my friends who introduced me to
this place and I am charmed. And then we meet other friends. I am a breeder, for example,
I have just raised my animals. I come for a quiet drink,
a warm atmosphere, to meet friends. It’s simple and warm. You don’t have to come with
a tie, it’s nice. Here, people talk to each other easily,
quite simply, and it allows for improbable exchanges between people who would not have spoken to each other
in the street, in other words. And it’s enriching
for everyone, you know. So. We come out happier
than when we came in. Serious ? Well, actually, I haven’t been
to the shrink since I came here. And why is it called the barber? Because he was a former
barber here before. If ?
At the entrance, of course. I understand. Yes, Thierry, he was
n’t a former barber here. No, no, it was an old grocery store. Grocery store, border cafe and grocery store. Why the barber because at the time,
we were looking for a name that was spelled the same in Irish and French. From barber, the barber,
it’s exactly the same spelling. And then we wanted to create
an animation around barbers. But that’s not done. We looked for old
retired barbers, but that didn’t happen. Now it’s very trendy, there
are barbers everywhere, but at the time, it wasn’t done. That was 21 years ago. At Thierry’s, we eat
Belgian specialties like shrimp croquettes. North Sea shrimp
, please. And also, we make different sandwiches:
ham, pâté, bacon and cheese. Excuse me, ham. But
the dish that made the establishment famous is Potchevlech,
a must-try in estaminets. It is a terrine of four
white meats in jelly cooked with beer. This is the Potchevlech. Served with fresh fries, some
raw vegetables, and a little homemade mayonnaise. The pocket is a small pot and the vlech
is the meat, a small pot of meat. It’s not easy to find
a good pot of Cheveublech. Because you can find some… There’s often that on the menu, a
pot of Cheveublech, but a good pot of Cheveublech is not so easy. And here he is very good. A few years ago, he won
a prize in the Cheveublech Pot competition. In 2006, we were second,
therefore vice-world champion of the Pot de Cheveublech.
Just that, please. Bon appétit, I’ll let you go. In the kitchen, it’s Igor,
Thierry’s brother, who prepares it. His recipe: farm butter,
onions, shallots, 75 centilitres of white wine,
veal, rabbit, pork and chicken, 6 litres of brown beer
and 3 litres of lager. And there you have it.
Crushed juniper berries. A small bouquet garni of Montjarlin. And then I put it on low heat for at least four hours. You can smell the cooking juices
and the beer that comes from… The jelly made with the
cooking juices covers everything. Two days in the fridge and the jar
of Cheveuvelèche will be ready to be enjoyed. The evening is well advanced. The regulars sit down at the table
and Thierry shines his light on us. Mr. Bernard, the new light bulb. So, what does estaminet mean? There are several explanations. Originally, there was an explanation
that came from Spain, because here, in Flanders, we were colonized. A little while ago, the Spanish
said that when the Spanish entered the cafes
in the countryside, they called it estaminet. And that meant: Are there any
girls here in the… There you go.
But that is one explanation. There are many versions of
the meaning of the word estaminet, which dates back to the 13th century. Before becoming fashionable places,
estaminets were simple village or country cafés. On the French side, Gonzague
frequented them when he was little. He shares some lovely memories
with Laurent, a friend from Lille. There, it is the route of
my grandfather’s rounds, who was a postman. When I was a kid, when I was 10 years old,
about ten years old, he used to take me out during
school holidays. I was following him on my bike because he was
doing that on his bike. And so we stopped at farms,
we stopped at border cafes, there were a few. And that was my first contact with
estaminets, because later they were called Flemish estaminets. Historically, people,
there were quite a few people who lived in the countryside because they
worked on farms. They didn’t have a car, so they
lived near their work. And in these hamlets, in fact, there was
often a place that did a little bit of everything. Who made coffee, groceries.
It was the supermarket of the time, you know. So. But it was really in the 80s,
in fact, where these bistros which had fallen into disuse in the middle of the countryside,
which had more utility. There are people who said to themselves: Hey,
maybe we could turn them into restaurants after all. We have seen the new
Flemish taverns spring up. And it worked well because people
came from Lille, came from the cities to eat there, to
immerse themselves in the rural culture, the Flemish culture. It wasn’t haute
cuisine, it was… But you had a tartine
with cold cuts. You didn’t have everything
that was Flemish carbonnade yet, dish. It came after that.
It came later. Gonzague wants to show Lorànt his
favorite tavern on the other side of the border. It is an old farm,
lost at the end of a path. And there you have it, and from Bourre-Ratte. Sometimes you have to give of
yourself to go to the tavern. This one you have to find.
And there you have it. Come on, anyway.
Typical Flemish farm. Anyway. They really did a good job of fixing it up. It must be open. Good morning. Good morning. Here, you arrive, you feel like you’re
arriving at someone’s house. You have to cook for them.
That’s exactly it. I wondered, we saw,
is it a tavern or… No, you’re at someone’s house.
In fact, you arrive at people’s houses. You can see them eating there. Because there, it’s
the people who don’t live there. And the restaurant is next door. No, it’s the whole restaurant,
but sometimes they eat there. You really feel like you’re
arriving at someone’s house. It’s a bit like the principle of the tavern. They recreate the classic interior. There you see, the second room. You can say to yourself, you arrive
in a 19th century house. Well, clearly,
you feel like you’re taking a leap in time, but without too many
frills either. That’s kind of the principle.
Yeah, definitely. Limit an ecomuseum. Houses could have been like this
in the last century. So, have you made your choice?
Good morning. Good morning.
How is he, in Flemish? Huindard.
Huindard. I’ll have cheese and bacon,
please. Cheese and bacon.
THANKS. Please.
Please, enjoy your meal. Great, thanks. You see, there’s any kind
of day, you can have a little slice of bacon or cheese. This will be my classic.
Isn’t that a Mondeca? No, it’s a cheese here,
next door, in Belgium. On the French side, at the foot of the Moulin de Bosse-Cup, De Virpote is one of the very first
establishments to have revived the fashion for estaminets almost 40 years ago. We come here on foot. We can’t take it anymore. On horseback, by bike or by bus. And we eat from the boards, period. Ludovic took over his estate
just three years ago. And he’s been running ever since. Come on, let’s go, kikis.
Well, are you okay there? So, perfect. Are you in good shape now?
Yes. Come on, the beer of misfortune
is But it is very, very good. It’s 10 degrees, there are watts. A glass board, buddy, Alain, don’t move. Cheese, bacon pâté
and peas. Potatoes and all
that jazz as usual. I already have a natural speed, if you want,
but you have to follow the troop, you know? So, after that… We need optimal service. Really, you have to give it your all. Inside and out, the boards generate the same enthusiasm.
Come on. We have it there for our kilos. I think it won’t last long. A pile of butter and everything, oh my. We’re going to lose more weight. We’re going to lose more weight.
Great. Especially when you’re hungry, it’s good. Wait, wait.
Awesome. Ah, that’s good.
Well done, Leonard. Health. Alright. Everything for our kilos. And we don’t care about anything that’s good. Oh, and you get extra cheese.
A piece of pâté? Yes, a piece of pâté, I’d like. These are local and fresh products,
but if you ever get hungry, there are plenty of standard forks, so don’t hesitate. I sell beer and pâté,
if you like, roughly. You see, it’s really the stamped
in and as we are one of the last to serve only boards. So that’s really the specialty. Who are you doing…
? This is my aunt.
It’s TP who has the estamines in the North. Give me a piece of cheese. I’ve been coming here for about forty
years. Did you get your coffee or not?
Yes, I had. And I knew all the owners here. He was a young man a bit like that. Since the back has recovered here,
it works pretty well. What a shame! He’s cool, he’s kind,
he’s helpful. I don’t have a southern accent.
No. Anyway, we have to keep him. Honestly… There’s no southern accent. My grandmother, they were flames,
but Pitgames flames, that’s what the inn calls them. If you’re robbing
your It’s like the Lyon bouchons, they’re ancestral places where people come
together, where it’s familial, it’s both… You can talk with your neighbor,
it’s very relaxed. Here, you come to forget your life for a little while,
you sit down and time stands still. We leave our problems at home. Yeah, and then you relax,
you see a few other people, you chat with everyone and then you
enjoy the greenery. Here, you are in the Flemish maquis,
you are in the heart of the mountains and you have a magic that settles in and that you feel. You know, that’s it. It’s an art of living
to run a tavern. It’s… You go back
20 years ago, 30 years ago, 40 years ago. It’s true that…
Especially since there’s a beautiful mill. In addition, beautiful mills,
beautiful things, old objects, old discoveries. And then, our new
generations also need to discover this. Everything is happening very quickly. On
the winding roads of the Flanders Mountains, Claire and the island are hard at work. So, behind us
is the Mont des Caps. There we descend towards Godesvarsweld,
which is a bit like the capital of taverns in the historic capital region. Claire is
preparing an article on estaminets and Gilles is the author of a guide
that lists the best establishments, the Bible des Estaminets. Godesvarsweld, which is the first name
that comes to mind when you say tavern. Godewarweld is a bit like the cradle of
Flemish taverns of recent times. Let’s say that the fashion for estaminets
started in the Flanders mountains and especially here. At this crossroads,
for three famous taverns. The Blowers Off is one of the most famous. He was the first to bring
Flemish games back into fashion in the 1980s. The boss was called Chris Mercier. We often saw him on television. The Staminet has been resold, but the games are still there. And Chris Mercier, never far away. Good morning. Yes hello.
How are you ? It’s okay, it’s okay.
Hello Chris. Good morning.
How are you ? Well and you ?
Yes, in good shape. Yes.
THANKS. And it was you who reintegrated the Flemish games into the spirit that is staminated.
Yes, that’s it. We decided to make it
one of the facets of our activity. We had bought in Belgian Flanders,
at the Catholic University of Louvain, where there is a cabinetmaking department,
and they made old games, copies of old Flemish games. So, we bought a whole lot of
old games from these people, which we brought back into use here. People were clearing the tables,
putting plates on the side, putting out
Flemish games to play, etc. You didn’t see this kind
of thing anywhere in restaurants. Usually, we’re there to eat
and we don’t move from our table. But we don’t. That’s why people could
come with their families, they would sit down at 12:30,
1:00 p.m. and they could leave around 4:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m. We had an hour to
set up the evening meals. The establishment had been caricatured a little. Old photos
of smugglers and customs officers were added. Because it’s… Blaherzopf, that means the enclosure of
tobacco fraudsters, smugglers. That was the theme at the beginning. The taverns also tell the story
of the place where they are located and allow us to make the link
between the past as they were in the past and what they are today.
Yes, exactly. Opposite Blowers Off,
the Centre’s tavern. So, the tavern in the Center. It has just been
taken over by Anne-Laure and Reynald. Good morning.
Good morning. Good morning.
Go ahead. Nice to meet you.
So you’re the new ones? You took it over. New owners
since December. The couple is
realizing a double dream. From brewer and he created a-Hold a
tavern and produce his own beer there. We found the perfect place
to have a beer, because Godes Varswell
is the place for pubs in Flanders.
I have a reputation for that. And to set up a microbrewery,
you couldn’t do better. This is the place where, certainly, there
are the most microbreweries in the area and where the most beer is consumed. It’s starting to clear up. So, afterwards, through a purge system,
we evacuate all the deposits. What’s so
special about this one? This one is brewed
with regional hops. And there’s quite a bit of wheat malt,
which gives it a little acidity. When will the first bottling be
? Mid-October. We produce to supply the staminates,
initially. What will this beer be called?
So, it will be called commise, which means customs officer in Flemish. Yes, okay. So there, she’s been
in the cold since yesterday. That’s interesting. It is true that establishments
like estaminets have an activity which, in addition,
highlights the identity of the territory. And here is this tradition. Because, in addition, Reynald, I believe,
works with local hops. Yes, in part. There is really this boom
in microbreweries and the fact of being able to taste it, to stamen it. We really get a taste of Flanders,
truly from song to plate. This is pretty awesome. From the brewery to the kitchen,
Reynald is gone. Before recommending the place in his
guide, Gilles always tries the Flemish carbonnade. Every time I try a new
estaminet, I order the carbonade because it’s a dish that you find
in all estaminets. It’s really the typical dish,
it’s the equivalent of beef Bourguignon for the North. There are lots of
different ways to do it. And then above all, it is
more or less successful. So there, it’s fine, it’s perfect. Third is staminate,
with the charm of yesteryear. In each establishment,
Gilles gleans valuable information for the next edition of his guide. A Flemish day,
that we have to hospitalize him. Tell me what has changed. How many bottled beers approximately?
A good forty. There are many more than before,
because I had noted 12 beer bottles. Yes, but we went back
a lot, a lot there. Okay, so that’s the one
with the pressure. How much is the daily special?
8.90. So, 8.90. There is always the
regional products shop, Carmelit. We are trying to cover
the best addresses, in fact. Both are stamped
in France and Belgium. There are new creations regularly, but hey, since I’ve been doing this for
about twenty years, there are still certain establishments
that have been there from the beginning and are made to last, in fact. There are others who are just passing through. There are some that exist for a year
or two, but then there is the penalty. It is the consumer
who decides whether it is good or not. Afterwards, it’s a bit of a fashion phenomenon
where everyone thinks that having the word staminated on the establishment
will bring in people, you know. So, after that, there you go. But then, it’s the people who come
and decide more personally, who say to themselves: It’s
a pub or it’s not a pub. The estaminets,
these small cafés of rural Flanders, are so successful that we have lost count of the number of them
opening in the region and even in the city center. This street in Vieux-Île, for example,
has been nicknamed Rue des Estaminets. Around ten establishments are shared between
tourists and city dwellers in search of authenticity. Purists are not very happy to
know that there are taverns on the island. Or rather, they say: Yes,
but they are not real. Indeed,
they are not authentic because most of them are recent creations. Twenty years ago, there
was no tavern on this street. So obviously, these are creations from
scratch, but a little bit everywhere in the region as well. Even in Flanders,
there are taverns that did not exist three,
four or ten years ago. There is a fashion effect. So, if here, on this street,
there are ten or so taverns, it’s because it works. So, we have to recognize that if
it were less successful, there would inevitably be a lot less of it. On the other hand, it works
a lot by word of mouth. If a tavern isn’t up to scratch,
word gets around very quickly and word of mouth can be very negative. And you see some restaurants
that close down or are reborn under another name
and which yesterday were a tavern, tomorrow will be a pizzeria, etc. Fabien Jancet is director of the
Cœur de Flandre Tourist Office. For him, the estamines are
the showcase of the region. In 2017, to help visitors
find the right places and avoid disappointments,
the Estaminé Flamand label was created. The word Estaminé is coming back
into fashion more and more. We have more and more
establishments displaying it. Sometimes the promise is kept,
sometimes not at all. The idea was also to say through this
label: We, the son of tourism, are here to
give a guarantee to these establishments by saying to visitors: Frankly,
you can go there with your eyes closed, don’t look any further, you are in the right
place, you are in the right place. If you want to experience
the tavern to the fullest, choose these places. The idea is to focus
on short supply chains, to source locally, to source
produce from the village or neighboring villages,
whether it be drinks, meat, bread, vegetables, or cheese. In rural Flanders, we are fortunate to have
passionate farmers who produce quality products,
and restaurateurs and Estaminet owners who want to
make them shine through on the plate. And that’s how we manage to make
a meal from A to Z, almost entirely with products from Flanders. In two years, 18 estamines
have received the sesame. Clémentin is one of the winners. At the foot of Casselle,
in the remarkable Récollets garden, he enjoys a moment of calm. They are called the August apples,
a small Flemish variety. Vegetable garden, organic orchard, of course. Not a single
chemical fertilizer, only natural. And so, we have… It depends on the seasons, but
right now, it’s apples, like zucchini,
pumpkins that are starting to arrive, with which we’re going to
create a country beauty. There, it’s our pears which are very,
very beautiful this year, with which we make a pear
egg tart which is excellent and also small compotes
to accompany our dishes. We also have lots of different kinds of
aromatic herbs, like thyme here. We also have sorrel here which
allows us to make pies and sauces or even soups. Here, red cabbages,
red beets. It’s in a really nice setting,
quiet, not too windy, exposed to the sun.
Everything you need for good vegetables. And that will be for this afternoon’s pie. Before running a tavern,
Clémentin was a nurse and Paul, a history student. We
both went down paths that
didn’t predestin us to do this at all. Clémentin and I
were students first, we did this on weekends in addition to our studies. And Clémentin will tell you the same thing,
we fell a little in love with this work, with all this heritage,
because ultimately, it is a profession that lives through a heritage,
through a whole history. And when you were born in the region and
grew up in that region, in Flanders,
when you work in a place like that, it brings out your roots. It’s truly pure pleasure. A tavern in the 19th century. It was mostly men back then. After work, they would come home,
have a beer, eat a piece of cheese, and
it was really just local stuff. Afterwards, they went home,
had a good time, played Flemish games,
Nicolas billiards and everything that goes with it. And that’s what we’re trying to make people
discover through the taverns. Being young and taking up this kind of game again gives back… There are several in the area,
but it’s nice to breathe new life into these traditions. At least we’re sure that for a couple
of years it won’t go to waste. We know very well that this will continue. What do I like here? In this It’s a superb place.
The view is very good. And the world, the butter. We have been in this system,
in fact, for 30 years. We came here once a year,
once a year. Cyclists, you stand here. There, it’s the air conditioning. So if you feel hot,
you open the button. And if you’re cold, you close.
It’s good ? Yes, good. Ca n’t you hear them? They eat, they are comfortable there,
they are relaxed. They will do 50 km
to get home soon. A little more. There are some who have already been here, right? Have they already come?
They seem fine to me. Changing his life to take over
a wine cellar was Ludovic’s dream. After 24 years at the post office,
he fell in love with the oldest establishment in operation, the vire-pot. In Flemish, it means
fire pot or ember pot. The ancients used them to light
their pipe or cigarette. In the past, before the arrival of
small individual matchboxes. So they took the pot at the entrance
to the tavern or at the foot of the fire. They put a shovelful of ashes. They would sit down at the table with their pot,
they would put it in the middle of the table. Can you imagine how much it smokes, can you imagine
the stuff that was inside? That was the central station in there, back in
the days of locomotives. And they lit their
pipes and cigarettes. So the smartest ones did it like that. Well, I don’t have
much experience. There were others who used
a tong a little… That was for curling
hair or something like that. They could take
a hot ember like that. And they did that. So, you see, I’m one of the last to
have used the pot turner. Every one is staminated in the corner,
because I’m exaggerating, but you have one every 500 meters around here. Each is staminated in
the corner has its originality. So, you have some who will
offer you different things. And what’s good
is that my colleagues and I don’t compete with each other because
each of us offers a different location, a different personality,
fortunately, and different catering, etc. You see? I really fell in love with
it, repainting it as it was before. It is a setting of old farms. And it reminded me a little of
my earliest childhood. We are very glad we came. You enter a grandmother’s living room
who, in this case, says to you: I’m very happy to see you,
kid, come and have a good beer and eat some toast. There you go, that’s the thing. Where are you from? I didn’t ask you, actually. Brive la Gaillarde,
who is Brive la Gaillarde? YOU ?
So, what about you? The Vosges.
The Vosges? So, they’re
family friends, what are they? It’s family.
It’s family, yes. We don’t see each other often,
so finding ourselves in a context like this is wonderful. A decor, typical products. A good beer. An atmosphere too, because we
are welcomed properly. We are in a world where there
are many virtual things. And here, at least,
we live off the real thing, it’s not complicated. That’s not a real idea. The most beautiful thing
is to see people calm and happy. When they say: We’re going to Ludo’s,
you’ve already won a lousy one. It’s happening more and more. There, just now,
you have people who left, who said: This is a place where things are
out of the ordinary. There you won too. Because doing something ordinary is
not worth it, in the end. Hello, how are you? Two people? It’s going to be hot potato. Hot, hot, hot potato.
Come with me. I’ll put you here. Standing out from the crowd and
surprising others is also what prompted Stéphane, originally from Armentières,
to open a tavern in the heart of Lyon. The world capital of gastronomy is
renowned for its Michelin-starred restaurants, its little bouchons,
its pike quenelles, its black pudding and its pots of Beaujolais. Nothing to scare Stéphane. Ten years ago,
he arrived in the sixth arrondissement,
determined to seduce the people of Lyon with his fresh fries,
his Flemish carbonnade, and his beer. For me, it’s not my job at all
at the grassroots level. So I worked
in metallurgy. I was a founder. I studied foundry. Following a redundancy,
I arrived in Lyon. And then, as there was almost nothing
authentically traditional from the north of France, I got started. I arrived with my Ch’ti touch,
with my light dishes. My beautiful smile, the smile of the North. And then the beer, that’s it. It was
a bit complicated at first because I came from another region. At first, Stéphane
mainly attracted expatriate northerners. There are some, they are in the
light every day. This is the first time in my life. Ovens are complicated. It’s good when you’re feeling a bit
blue, when you need to revisit the region, talk a little with
Stéphane, drink a good beer, eat some Wesh, a carbo. We come here. Hey, man, there’s one. Word of mouth works. Enjoy your food. The Northerners bring their friends from
Lyon who are in turn seduced by the atmosphere and the
authentic dishes of the estaminets. So. It’s extraordinary. Starting with the
beef fat fries. Real fresh fries,
because they’re becoming increasingly rare, as they say. We do a first cooking. There is a fairly low temperature. As in the North,
we put beef fat in it. And then, during the service,
we will do the second bath. There you go, 180, 190 degrees. So, how are you?
I’m fine, and you? How are you doing?
Yes, we want to know if you like her. Yeah, the Welsh ch’Nord. Welsh is a cheddar fondant with
a slice of bread, white ham and an egg. It’s light, it’s seasonal,
it’s clean. So. So how many Welsh then? Come on, five Welsh. Stéphane has also become
a Welsh specialist. This traditional dish,
served in many restaurants. A nice slice of toast, you see? Lovely country toast. And then we don’t hesitate to add
a good piece of ham. There are some people who cut
a small, light strip, but we are robust. The cheddar is
melting into the beer. We’ll wait until it’s melted. We will cover the
slice of bread and the ham. A lovely little welch, well gratinated. So, little Welsh.
Yes. I wish everyone a good appetite. Thank you so much. This is excellent.
It’s very hot. It’s very hot, but it’s excellent. It tastes like the North. I’m less cold. It’s carbonella, then. It’s a killer, honestly. It was daring because Lyon is
the capital of gastronomy. We didn’t know about the estaminets at all. And yeah, setting up something like that
in Lyon, yeah, it wasn’t easy. And Steph, now
he’s been here for ten years. It was someone who introduced us to
a little North Pole in Lyon. We didn’t know him.
And what’s more, he’s… You could say he’s
really nice. It’s a tavern, it’s a meeting place,
we party, we have fun. So. So this is the meeting place for friends. Lyon is a beautiful city, but… The Ch’tis in Lyon
are a wonderful place to be. That’s it. Here we share our friendship and
our love of the land. That’s it. And we find that here, at Stéphane’s. Did n’t we kiss? No. What do you like most
about running a tavern? The joy of living, the joy of the customers. At one point,
everyone here smiles. They still have a little trouble
speaking Ch’tis, but it will come. It will come a little bit to Paris.
It’s going to rain, it’s going to rain. It’s going to be rainy. But it always stands up, but it’s
from the inside, and it stands up. And I didn’t bring my dog. You didn’t bring your dog, Mathieu?
No, I don’t have my dog. Too bad. For you, you have two dogs.
I have two dogs. You have two dogs. But one dog is worth
two you will have. It’s good ?
Impeccable, what. That’s it.
We’ll get there. Our journey to the heart of the taverns
takes us to Stamford, between Lille and Dunkirk. Eating well and having fun is what has made
Nord Meulen so successful since 1982. Traditional attire, a unique menu
and a hand-picked waitress. Yes, yes, yes, yes, we
had the Iris Mittenard. As it turns out, his mom is our
neighbor, she lives right next door. And one day she asked us
if we needed a young girl. And then it started, she was 17. And now, at 25,
you’re Miss Universe. If we had said it, we would not have believed it. It’s really nice. At Jean-François’s,
everyone eats the same thing. The first table that is reserved
sets the menu for everyone. There you go, it’s Maroilles, a
pot of cheveuvelettes. The following weekend,
it’s carbonnade. Is that how it is?
Always a unique menu. This way there is no waste
and it is only fresh. In the kitchen, Anne and Jean-François have
been preparing lunch for two days. Appetizer, soup, starter, main course,
cheese and dessert, everything is homemade. Here you have the zucchini velouton. Here you have the beer shell
with its juice. And the little sauce that goes with it. Crème fraîche, of course, very light,
with good fresh mushrooms and bacon. And then over there, the
apple tatins that we baked. And there you have it. The good tatin. Those who had the privilege of choosing
the menu have just arrived from Grande-Saintte, near Dunkirk. They will spend a special day at
Estamine, first on the French side, then on the Belgian side. You have to be motivated. If you are not motivated, you
should not go out. We stay at home. And if we stay at home,
we hurt all over. If you want to stay young, you have to move.
Move, eliminate. Isn’t it mine?
Yes. I eliminated it. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
Good morning, gentlemen. Good morning. Good morning. Here is your happiness. THANKS. Come on, it was served by Iris. We were served by Miss World
a few years ago. Mr. Universe.
Mr. Universe. I don’t know much about it.
Is it above the world? Yes. To be redone. Suspicion of jealousy
on the part of the lady. So now what do we eat? It’s just that you can’t know
in the area, here, the number of taverns there may be. You know, Pharaoh,
they all walk, goddamn it. This is intolerable.
It is taxable. In Flanders, here, I
know about ten of them. They are armored all the time. So, the other advantage too, sir,
is that everything is made with homemade products. Because they have people in their family
who are farmers. These are the house vegetables. Meat is
the family’s vegetable. Bread is a whole system… That’s typical.
Yes, it’s typical. He
should try it anyway, because it really is
wonderful stuff. Let yourself be seen.
You’ll see. I went to look in the yard
and there was one of them singing. He said to me: Cocoriz, I said to him: You’re lucky. With a busy schedule, we have to head to Belgium where other festivities await
the satiated guests. It digests, it’s good. We are in great shape. An hour by horse-drawn carriage and the convoy
arrives at New Saint-Éloi. A Belgian tavern in its original state,
famous for having one of the last examples of the bird boule. It is a game derived from flat bowls
which was apparently imported by Spanish sailors in the 16th century. The aim of this game
is to try to remove the caps that are fixed to the iron bars. The best thing is to take the pebbles with your
hand from below, feather side, always next to the shoot. We are just starting out. So far I have four points,
once the three and once the one. The points are always
scored from below. I’ll put them back first.
I’ll try. Each time, you have to put them back. Wait, stop. She’s pulling her whiskers over there,
she’s going to be shaved. Wait. They are wonderful. They can’t bring them back. Of course.
Of course. Of course.
Of course. Of course. Of course. At Thierry’s, on the first Thursday of the month,
we take out the red cushions. For one evening,
the tavern transforms into a cinema. A cone of fries and a movie, the cinema-frites is sold out. It’s great. The title of the evening
is cinema-frites. You know a lot
of titles like that, cine-frite. When I tell my son this,
he says: It’s only in the North that you see movies, fries. Still, yes. And so, you will continue to
run a tavern for a long time. Yes, we hope so. So we have fun there and we get
drunk quite often. No, but yes, a good time, certainly. Of course. This is your fault, Vincent. Yes, it’s because of this day. My goal was to do nothing,
if you like, but I realized that it took
a lot of work to get there. Hopefully it will lift. Yes, it’s just showers. You’re going to make me stand up. You really are subscribed.

Pour découvrir les merveilles des plus belles régions de France, c’est ici – Abonnez-vous 👉 http://bit.ly/3zjR2Vj 🙏

Pousser la porte d’un estaminet, c’est s’offrir un voyage nostalgique dans le passé. À la lueur d’une bougie, dans un décor fait de bric et de broc, on s’amuse, on joue, on rit, on discute, on échange, on déguste une bière d’abbaye et on savoure la cuisine généreuse du Nord. Comment ces anciens cafés de campagne désuets sont-ils devenus aujourd’hui les meilleurs ambassadeurs de la gastronomie et de la convivialité ? Pourquoi rencontrent-ils un tel succès ? Entre carbonade flamande, welsh, potjevleesch et parties endiablées d’anciens jeux traditionnels, ce documentaire se plonge dans le meilleur du Nord.

Réalisé par Vincent Guérin
© MORGANE PRODUCTION – 2019