There are lots of pancakes. The traditional brioche with candied fruits, sugar crystals and orange blossom, the flaky pancake with frangipane, or filled with cream as we like them in the North, with anise as they do in Savoie, or even chocolate or pear. But the pancake that the Nîmes Joannes Richard And Léa Chiari took on the challenge of making it, no one had ever tasted it. This restaurateur, crowned world burger champion in 2023, and this pastry chef have created… a Burger of Kings! An astonishing sandwich, halfway between a burger and a galette des rois.
This funny idea germinated in the mind of Joannes Richard, at Epiphany, last year. While everyone was fighting over the bean, this restaurateur, who always has an idea in advance, was surprised that no one had ever dared to combine a burger and a patty. “I said to myself, ‘I’ll do it next year!’ », confides Joannes Richard to 20 minutes. Quickly, the duo imagined hybrid breads, clever mixes between traditional buns and pancakes the way we like them, at Epiphany.
The secret is a bun baked in the oven between two layers of puff pastry
But Joannes Richard and Léa Chiari were quickly faced with a major challenge: How to make these loaves unlike any other, while retaining the softness of burger buns, while recalling the flakiness of King Cakes? “At the beginning, we didn’t really know how to do it,” confides the Nîmes restaurateur. And one night, I got up with a start, and I said to myself, “But yes, that’s how we have to do it!” »
Léa Chiari thus prepared a dough, as if she were making a pancake, except that instead of filling it with frangipane, she slipped it in… a bun, raw! “The bread cooks like this, enclosed in a layer of puff pastry,” smiles the pastry chef, who its own store in Nîmes. “In the oven, the bun rises, and it merges with the puff pastry. It’s incredible ! », enthuses Joannes Richard. “When tasting, we find the crispy and golden flaky layers, but also the softness of the buns! And it works really well! », assures Léa Chiari.
Aubrac minced steak, Beaufort, candied figs and morel fricassee
But the Burger des Rois is not just two funny buns: it is a sandwich “in the continuity of the end-of-year celebrations”, describes the chef, with a minced steak from Aubrac, Beaufort, mayonnaise with hazelnut oil, with hazelnuts and roasted almonds, beet pickles, candied figs, Red Chard salad, and morel fricassee, with air, onion and tarragon.
The Burger des Rois is, however, much more imposing than the sandwiches that are traditionally served in restaurants: Take a bite of the piein Saint-Hilaire-d’Ozilhan (Gard), the restaurant of Joannes Richard, who offers it à la carte for a few more days, we taste it for two, half each, it is so enormous.
“It’s the one who finds the bean who pays for the other person’s meal!” »
And, of course, there is a bean in this sandwich. An original bean, which Joannes Richard had specially made for the occasion, in the shape of a small burger. It’s not hidden in the buns, but somewhere in the sandwich filling. A bit risky, right? “No more than a bean in a traditional pancake! », laughs Léa Chiari.
Moreover, at Croquez la vie, we have overturned tradition. “The deal is that whoever finds the bean gets invited by the other! », confides the restaurateur. “And we offer him dessert!” » And this appetizing fusion between a pancake and a burger attracts curious palates: since Joannes Richard and Léa Chiari unveiled their creation on social networks, the former’s restaurant has been overwhelmed by requests for Burgers des Rois.