Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or (France) (AFP)

"Bringing modernity without changing the soul of Paul Bocuse": the Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or inn, cut off from its third Michelin star, has wisely gotten a facelift, both in the dining room and in the kitchen , for its reopening on Friday.

A few hours from welcoming the first customers of the year, the restaurant vibrates like a "war machine": the truffled Bresse poultry is ready to cook, the sweetbreads are braised and the mushrooms carefully turned by the chef Christophe Muller in person.

A week before, the announcement by the Red Guide of the demotion of this temple of gastronomy had the effect of a thunderclap.

The old golden plaque praising the three stars "since 1965" at the entrance of the establishment has disappeared, replaced by another presenting a "Family house since 1924", which recalls the almost centenary history of the Bocuse family in Collonges.

This does not prevent the institution from getting a makeover. Project started a year ago, long before the Michelin’s ax fell, the "modernization phase", costing around 3.5 million euros of work over two years, is irretrievably underway, warns proudly the general manager of the restaurant, Vincent Le Roux.

"We ran out of time to prove that the house was in the development phase," he said.

"But we will continue exactly what we planned with a savory offer that will evolve a little and a sweet offer that will evolve enormously with the arrival of our pastry chef Benoît Charvet", continues the manager, whose leitmotif is "do not betray the DNA of the house".

"Six or seven changes" have been made to the winter menu, alongside the signature dishes "which we will never remove, I think, never", according to Mr. Muller, member of the triumvirate of Meilleur Ouvrier de France to direct the kitchen.

The next menu, which will be launched in March, will offer "60% signature dishes and 40% new dishes", when only "one or two dishes" were changed during the lifetime of Paul Bocuse, who died on January 20, 2018.

"We respected his will, we listened to the master", then, after his disappearance, it was his wife Raymonde who took over the reins until his death last June, recalls the chief. "Things have changed, unfortunately the two have left and now we have this responsibility as a team", where unanimity prevails.

- "Up to date" -

In pastry, the new team led by Benoît Charvet prepares oranges in puffed sugar, which will be garnished with a citrus cocktail associated with verbena berries from Madagascar and black lemon from Iran.

"The project is to continue the story and open a second chapter," said the pastry chef, who joined the house in November with the ambition of offering desserts "up to date". Gluten-free or lactose-free cakes should soon appear on the menu, he announced. A revolution in this temple of eating well in Lyon.

In the dining room, darker shades of gray and green were applied to the walls and an imposing fireplace was replaced by contemporary furniture, camouflaging a pantry to facilitate the work of the waiters.

"We have the impression that it has sown for hundreds of years so people come from all over the planet and know its history, that is why it is extremely difficult to change everything", underlines designer Alain Vavro.

For a private lounge, devoted to the theme of nature, the decorator unearthed unpublished photos of the illustrious chef.

Come to see the progress of the work, the daughter of "Monsieur Paul", Françoise Bocuse-Bernachon is ecstatic on one of the pictures where his mother appears. "It looked like Grace Kelly," she said, a tear in the corner of her eye.

"Everyone knows Paul Bocuse the cook and there, it is his life a little more personal, his moments of intimacy", says with nostalgia Mr. Le Roux, who is pleased that the first phase of works in January 2019 has was "very well accepted" by customers.

Is he afraid of a customer disaffection after the earthquake caused by the Michelin sanction? "Bocuse has always been at the top, the proof, the order books are full," says the director general, who plans "five to six weeks of waiting" to book the weekend.

© 2020 AFP