As an obviousness, already.

By barely pulling on the days and weeks, we are two big years into existence. Setting foot in Bistrot Blaise, in the heart of Marche-en-Famenne, is to receive nothing but smiles and welcomes. In the home of François-Xavier Simon and Hanna Matyja, there is this ultimate desire to create a true atmosphere of kindness, a clear conviviality that immediately wins over the guest; a kind of "we will take care of you" that perfectly reflects the spirit of these magnificent innkeepers, in the noble sense of the term. And one would have to have a stiff and extinguished heart not to join them in this welcoming waltz.

A child of the region, FX's path is sewn with golden letters: Hotel School in Namur, Georges V in Paris, then the brigades of Joël Robuchon and 'Il Pagliaccio' in Rome, before joining for twelve years the one who will forever be his mentor, Pierre Gagnaire. Heart accomplice, with certainties and doubts, Hanna radiates in the dining room with a cheerful service; she, born Polish, moved from her homeland to Deauville first, then Paris and the George V, where her smile and joy of living still resonate.

The project of Bistrot Blaise was born, took shape and grew during the confined moments. The suspended moments have the good and beautiful of allowing time to settle, of allowing the breathing of minds, of seeing ideas germinate and projects born. Shedding light on this domain of possibilities, making these strong and well-inspired souls choose to reveal that from nothing everything can be born.

The story bringing him back as an obviousness to his land and his family, and to his grandmother, this Granny who once ran a grocery store, from those small shops with great treasures that we all had near us. A Granny towards whom crowds moved during the hunting season to find the most beautiful game. Cherished nostalgia.

In FX Simon's cuisine, besides a deep nature and a rare identity, one feels an opening to the whole world; as if the man had absorbed all the terroirs, all the spices, and all the fragrances of the world. A feeling nourished by these little details, these very small things that take us, surprise us, and take us away unexpectedly; here a delicate spice, there a well-placed acidity. A cuisine, thought out brilliantly and executed wholeheartedly by a young brigade driven by passion and entirely marked by the personality of its chef: full of taste, solar in its soul, readable, audacious, and mastered, where each element contributes to the whole. Brilliant.

Absolute favorite for the start with the Marinated and then grilled half-salted pork breast, garlic spinach, julienne of white and green cabbage, crispy pig's ear, poached Anceline oysters in butter then cut, 'Belle De Morteau' brunoise, red wine sauce, and the Frog legs in foamy butter, leek fondue, Parmesan cream, and grilled guanciale, the modest parts served on a melba toast, mixed with green oil, pink radish. To follow, the Pan-seared veal sweetbread, white wine-mustard mushroom brunoise, white ham, large Nduja potato gnocchi, crispy calf kidney, iceberg lettuce, soy, and peanut butter, '5 sansho' sauce, and the Free-range chicken supreme, blue lobster; the supreme just roasted, the lobster rolled in lemon hazelnut butter, cooked and glazed ice radishes in red cabbage juice and the thigh and claws served in a bisque tortellini, cima di rapa.

There are men who create links between products, plates, and emotions, our emotions. Like a return to life, like an obviousness, already.

LD