Where else would you go to eat ‘good Lyon cooking’ other than the old Vieux Lyon district… it all makes perfect sense when you eat at Joël SALZI’s Les Fines Gueules
Les Bouchons Lyonnais : Can you tell us the names of your chefs and the career paths they followed?
Jöel SALZI : After getting to know the many different aspects of the profession, and spending more than 10 years with Paul Bocuse, who practically reinvented the French culinary tradition, I decided to get back to the job I had been trained – and love – to do, with the help of my sous-chef Anne Sophie Pham, and my wife Julie as front-of-house.
LBL : Why did you decide to open a bouchon-style restaurant (generation, family, etc.)?
JS : Because I love the honesty and generosity of traditional Lyon cuisine – and because I love food!
LBL : Does your bouchon have any specialities or particular culinary style?
JS : It’s gourmet cuisine that has been adapted to suit today’s taste – appetising but not too rich, carefully seasoned… Boned pigs trotter parcels, home-made terrines, poached eggs ‘en meurette’ (with a red wine sauce), and of course a dish of the day made with fresh market produce.
LBL : What dish would you choose to symbolise bouchon cuisine?
JS : Le tablier de sapeur (breaded tripe) sauce gribiche (mayonnaise made with hard boiled eggs)
“Lyon’s gastronomic cuisine : we peel, we bone and we simmer !”
LBL : How would you describe Lyon’s gastronomic cuisine?
JS : Generous, timeless and truly inexpensive, family cooking where we peel, we bone and we simmer!
LBL : Apart from the actual cooking, what else is different about genuine Lyon bouchons as opposed to other restaurants?
JS : They have a warmth about them, they are places where pleasure and friendliness can be openly enjoyed to the full, and every meal starts with the Lyon motto: Eat and drink well!
LBL : What would you say are the qualities of a good restaurant owner?
JS : They must enjoy making people welcome and always cook as if they were cooking for themselves, for the pleasure …