“You are very very young! “ The mistress of ceremonies of the Michelin Guide could not hide her surprise, Monday in Strasbourg, by handing the microphone to Jeanne Satori and David Degoursy. The couple had then just come up for the second time that morning on the platform to come and get a star. A red, sign of the new standing of their restaurant, and a green, which crowns the “establishments most committed in terms of sustainable gastronomy”.
Not bad at 24 and 26 respectively! “Others have already been rewarded by being younger than us,” laughs the native of Dalhunden. A town in the north of Bas-Rhin located a few kilometers from the Bischwiller high school, where the duo met and never left. Better still, they now work together every day in the kitchen… and in the dining room.
Because at “de: ja”, a reference to their first names “but also to the surprise of our families that we are already embarking”, the chefs are used to coming to discuss with customers. The number of seats has been deliberately reduced to 16 and the guests often do not know what they are going to taste. It is just written on the menu “starter/creation of the moment/meat or fish/dessert”. “We don’t announce our dishes because they can change from one day to the next and of course according to the seasons”, explains Jeanne Satori, insisting on the very concept of the address: “Working with local products , people we know and who respect their environment. »
Either with market gardeners in organic and biodynamic cultivation, “game meat or pigeons” nearby or even a fish farm about sixty kilometers from the Alsatian capital. “We also have our own little vegetable garden of aromatic herbs at my mum’s in Drusenheim”, specifies the co-owner. “The exceptions are salt, pepper, sugar and coffee, which come from further afield. »
“Retranscribe the emotions of the season”
With all these ingredients chosen with care and often on the spot, Jeanne Satori and David Degoursy indulge their inspirations. As for this shallot “candied and cooked on the Binchotan barbecue, which will bring out the smoky aromas. And we serve it with ice cream and shallot and hazelnut compote. Or even these “carp ravioli that we matured for thirty days, with truffles and chopped snails. All with broth.
“We have a cuisine of the moment, precise and minimalist. We try to transcribe the emotions of the season, ”sums up the former ecology student. Arrived after her license and therefore almost late in her profession. It was less than four years ago, in July 2019, when she started her CAP cuisine alternately. His companion was a little more advanced, not by a lot. “I had briefly studied literature but it was a failure. Then I became interested in market gardening before being a clerk at Maïence [désormais fermé] in Strasbourg”, recounts the person concerned.
But it was really at the Auberge au Bœuf, in their little corner of Alsace, that the two got started. “We ate there, I applied and I was taken on as a clerk”, rewinds the one who then became party chef. Until the confinement of winter 2020 which changed the plans of the couple. “We thought about a restaurant project and finally, we tied everything up,” recalls his companion. A few months later and thanks to crowdfunding and aid, they opened in October 2021 in the Quartier des XV in Strasbourg. The place is not yet adorned with the two precious stars. “We received our jackets, the brochure will arrive soon,” promises Jeanne Satori. Quite quickly, given the rhythm of the duo.