Cannabis Sativa L. This is the scientific name of a species of herbaceous plants that has been turning heads for millennia. But in the swirls of smoke, be careful not to put all these plants in the same basket. And therefore do not confuse cannabis with hemp even if the difference is maintained. Sought after for its recreational use, cannabis is a variety that contains between 5 and 20% tetrahydrocannabinol, the famous THC substance that gets you high. For hemp plants, the THC content does not exceed 0.2%. In other words, smoking a hemp joint won’t get you high.
Industrial hemp, on the other hand, proves to be a good thermal and sound insulator. And ecological what’s more because its cultivation requires little water and requires no inputs. Hemp is also a superfood. In any case its seeds, full of protein and rich in omega-3, which are consumed in the form of oil, flour or just roasted. “But its use remains very little known in cooking,” underlines Romain Le Cordroch.
“It goes with everything, savory and sweet”
At the head of the Bvañ restaurant, which opened its doors in the summer of 2022 near the ramparts of Vannes (Morbihan), this chef has made this thousand-year-old plant an essential ingredient in his “traveling and very food-oriented” cuisine. the plant” according to him. “I removed the meat from the menu,” he says. As for the fish, it serves more as a support for the vegetables that I combine with cereals, flowers, aromatic herbs or seaweed on the plate. »
A fervent defender of forgotten vegetables, the globe-trotting cook, who trained at Joël Robuchon in Paris, at Cheval Blanc in Saint-Barthélémy or at the Sofitel Copacabana in Rio, discovered hemp on the market with Régis Durand and Benjamin Frezel, two producers at the head of the Trévero farm in Sérent (Morbihan) from whom he has sourced his products ever since. “I had already worked on this product a little in Paris but there I learned to know it in its different forms,” he explains, seduced by the nutritional qualities of these seeds “shunned” by chefs. And also by their taste which is a little reminiscent of hazelnut. “It also goes well with everything, savory and sweet,” he assures.
A king cake with hemp flour
Using it in small touches in his creations, Romain Le Cordroch wanted to push the cursor a little further by offering a special hemp menu throughout the month of November. With hemp and nori crackers on the plate, scallops in hemp Viennese and celery pearled with hemp oil, fresh goat’s cheese rolled with crispy hemp seeds and pear, hemp and rose geranium for dessert.
A mixture as tasty as it is original which never fails to surprise its customers. “Some people are sometimes reluctant to eat hemp because they think it’s cannabis,” he laughs. But once they have tasted it, they are all delighted and some even ask me where to get it. » In January, the Breton chef once again put the plant with its sulphurous reputation in the spotlight with a frangipane king cake made with hemp flour. “We did a test last year and it was a hit,” he says. It goes to show that people, of all ages, are curious. » So curious and now addicted to hemp.