Louise-Adélaïde Boisnard 9:45 p.m., November 13, 2021

When we talk about French chilli, we directly think of Espelette pepper.

However, he has an unknown and missing cousin that the starred chef Christian Têtedoie is relocating in France.

He tells us how he discovered Bresse pepper.

Christian Têtedoie is a chef from Lyon who is concerned about the environment and seasonality.

Evidenced by the green star he received from the Michelin guide to reward his eco-responsible cuisine.

He therefore wishes to re-establish old varieties of fruit and vegetables in France to diversify local production.

That's how he went back to cultivating an extinct species: Bresse pepper.

The forgotten cousin of Espelette pepper

Bresse pepper is a bit rounder and shorter than Espelette pepper, but is just as red.

It comes from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes except that we can find more on the spot.

So, chef Christian Têtedoie had to travel outside France to find seeds.

"We went to get seeds in St. Petersburg, at the Vavilov Institute. Davidoff was a botanist who traveled the world to collect species and who created the world's fourth largest seed bank."

The return to the lands of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Once the seeds were collected, they had to be re-accustomed to the local climate.

"It took two years to multiply the seeds and we have been in cultivation for three years. I work with the Cervia, the Regional Center for Applied Botany in Lyon." 

The Michelin-starred chef is very optimistic about the adaptability of this pepper and its nutritional properties.

"It's really very interesting because they are varieties that were thought to be less nutritious, less flavorful and less productive. While this is not the case at all. In addition, they have an advantage, is that 'they are perfectly adapted to the soil and to our times. They do not need to be watered and we do not treat. So they have a very powerful genome and I have a lot of hopes for these old varieties. "

This pepper can also be found in his mushroom baba recipe.