Saint-Martin always
This event only takes place once a year. To experience it, you have to be patient and overcome the inconvenience of occasionally interrupted rail traffic! But it’s all for a good cause, and it’s a smooth ride! Indeed, what could be more satisfying than to travel in search of gastronomic sensations, especially when you know that the culinary event happens so rarely! At a time when culinary traditions are often undermined by new gastronomic trends, here’s the story of a trip to the Jura region to celebrate the famous feast of Saint-Martin!
Edouard Amoiel
Version Jérémy Desbraux
The landscapes flow by like a poem. The shores of Lake Geneva, Lake Neuchâtel, the green plains of the Jura… what beauty! After crossing four cantons by train, we arrive in Noirmont, a small town with a temple to Swiss gastronomy. Formerly run by Georges Wenger, the Maison Wenger was taken over in 2018 by Jérémy Desbraux in the kitchen and his wife Anaëlle Roze in the dining room. It’s impossible for the couple not to celebrate the traditional Jura festival, which takes place every year on the second weekend in November. This commemoration of the end of work in the fields provides an opportunity to gather around convivial tables and numerous dishes prepared mainly with pork.
Practical information
Address: 6 rue de la Gare, 2340 Noirmont / Telephone: 032 957 66 33 / Opening hours: Wednesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner services. Website
TIPSa once-in-a-lifetime culinary journey / exceptional room service / culinary interpretation brilliantly executed / reservations required
Edouard Amoiel
There’s no other word for it… it’s a real gourmet festival! Household jelly, mustard / Broth and bread crust / Black pudding with apples and red roots / Atriaux with leek and cabbage / Sausages and roasts, mashed potatoes and grabons / Artisan sauerkraut and porridge / Iced red damson soup, soft cookies and caramelized almonds. The standard is high, the details are meticulous and Jérémy Desbraux manages to prepare the pork in a refined manner, giving each sequence a flawless elegance. All served with brio by a formidable wait staff, under the watchful eye of the young sommelier from Marseille, Clément Couvret-Wagner.
Culinary patriotism
What a pleasure it is to see such fine establishments as Maison Wenger perpetuating traditions in a world sorely lacking in them. Thank you to Jérémy Desbraux and his wife for their commitment, for the preparation of their dishes, and for the exceptional moments that their guests savor with every mouthful. Even if the return journey was laborious (in every sense of the word), this patriotic culinary day will be remembered forever.
