Good Yeast!
As a motivated and focused partner, Bérengère Lutaud has her husband recite the wine scales in preparation for the final year of the famous Master of Sommelier exam. Glasses of red and white wine are lined up to the nearest millimetre in single file, index cards are out, and pen and ink are filling in the blanks on the tasting analysis comments (blind, of course). The senses are alert and concentration at its peak. The exam is one of the toughest in the world, and the stakes are high, which makes the scene as touching as it is reassuring, and reinforces the idea that married life in the restaurant business is still possible. Four out of five wines are identified… Even if he’s not satisfied with this more than respectable score, Bertrand nonetheless breaks into a smile. The interview can begin.
Bertrand Lutaud at Yeast ©Edouard Amoiel
Polling period
Like some of his fellow restaurateurs, Bertrand Lutaud’s sensibilities are at the very tip of his tongue. A man of temperament and commitment, this colorful character is nonetheless a passionate enthusiast. This introverted owner has a big heart and immense generosity. Constantly reflecting on the evolution of his profession, he remains very concerned about the future. “The overall situation remains worrying. I’m still asking myself a thousand questions. Maybe I should find the strength to ask myself a few less,” he jokingly replies. Despite the exhausting daily routine he imposes on himself between revisions and restaurant services, he retains an overflowing positivism that no doubt keeps him going.
In just a few years, the Yeast restaurant has rapidly established itself in the upper echelons of Geneva’s gastronomic scene. With its auteur cuisine from talented chefs (we can’t forget Freddy Garanjoud, now at the helm of Matière, and we can’t fail to salute the talent of current chef Ludovic Rolandi), this place of life, where natural wines are enjoyed in abundance, is a comforting infusion of well-being. But in the meantime, the health crisis has wreaked havoc that is still being discreetly felt. The wound is no longer open, but it has left indelible traces. “We work in a small space, we’re often full, but it’s very irregular. The restaurant can be as full on a Tuesday evening as it is on a Friday lunchtime: there’s no logic to it anymore,” admits the owner.
Cima di rapa / beurre blanc / beet @Edouard Amoiel
(Non)social networks
Bertrand Lutaud remains perplexed by the ever-increasing commitment to social networking. It’s hard to blame him, as the virtual kitchen craze has reached a fever pitch. This recent technological incursion has rapidly made its way into the profession, even achieving the status of indispensable communication. Even if some exceptions remain, can those “unaccustomed” to this new form of correspondence really refuse to open up to the virtual world? It’s always hard to change, especially in a world that’s constantly evolving. Tasting a succulent turbot delicately topped with a beurre blanc spiced up with a few capers makes us realize that, whatever happens, talent exists in human beings… and talent does exist at Yeast!
