The Bras house in Laguiole is an institution known well beyond the borders of North Aveyron. This gastronomic restaurant is a family story, before being a story of great cuisine. Anchored in this territory which is dear to them, Sébastien and his father Michel before him, knew how to develop a fine cuisine, contemporary, based on the nature and which finds its roots in the heart of the plateau. Come live a unique sensory experience, both visual and gustatory, to understand all the richness and complexity of theAubrac.
A family history that lasts
The history of the Bras family has been written since three generations in Laguiole. It all started in 1956, when Michel Bras' mother, called Mémé Bras, bought a workers' restaurant in the village. From the good traditional cuisine, was born the reputation of the family.
Michel set foot in the kitchen very early on and it was only natural that he took over the restaurant with his wife in 1968. Artist and dreamer, he developed a cuisine turned towards nature and inspired by Aubrac. His observation of the environment that has surrounded him since childhood and his lifelong desire experiment new things, allowed him to develop a vision of his own and which made him famous.
In 1992, Michel moved the restaurant to Suquet, a promontory that dominates the Aubrac plateau a few kilometers from Laguiole. The architecture of the new restaurant has been designed to fit perfectly into the landscape and to highlight the beauty of the plateau.
Sébastien, like his father before him, was lulled by the sounds and smells coming from the kitchens. He wanted to perpetuate this family tradition and passion. Following his studies at the Paul Bocuse Institute, he came to work with his father, before taking over the reins of the family business in 2009.
A natural and local cuisine
The Bras kitchen is a special signature, a ode to plants and nature, local products and Aubrac. Sébastien doesn't like show cooking, he prefers finesse and softness, a cuisine that encompasses the five senses. He works the products as a whole, even the pips of the apple can be found on the plate. To work with the products he likes, especially plants, he cultivates his own garden. True conservatory of edible plants, it includes more than two hundred species of vegetables, flowers, herbs, local or brought back from travels around the world.
We live thanks to this territory, it is important to favor it on the plates
In his approach, Sébastien wants to show the richness of the products present on the territory. He works closely with the local producers and actors. Aubrac free-range beef, cheeses from the Cooperative Jeune Montagne are on the plates, as are the Laguiole knives that adorn the sleek tables in the reception room.
Some signatures of the house
Bras has developed signature dishes, which contributed to building its reputation, propelling Michel and his son then, among the greatest French chefs.
The gargoyle
Michel Bras was inspired by the pastures of Aubrac, flooded with flowers and scents in spring, to create his iconic dish. The Gargouillou of young vegetables is a firework of colors and flavors that intertwine in a vegetable architecture, only linked by an eggnog and the juice of a ham cooked in broth.
The chocolate coulant
It all started with an emotion, that of a moment of family conviviality, shared around a hot chocolate, following a cross-country ski outing in bad weather. Michel Bras sought to transcribe it in the kitchen. A story of hot and cold that gave birth to the flow. It is composed of a cookie dough in which is inserted a frozen chocolate ganache. Once reheated, the biscuit on the outside will be cooked and lukewarm, while its center will let out a flow of melting chocolate. Since then, this cult dessert has been revisited with caramel, coffee, fruit or, even more surprisingly, asparagus and tarragon.
The potato wafer
It was after a trip to Peru that Sébastien Bras decided to make a dessert based on a well-known tuber: the potato. It takes the form of a wavy tile, obtained by candying thin layers of potatoes, cooked on a gutter mould. A hazelnut butter cream, underlined with a salted butter caramel complete this dessert, which has now become a signature of Maison Bras.
A diversified company
The world of Bras is not just a gourmet restaurant. This is a whole universe at the service of beauty, to promote the wealth and beauty of Aubrac. In Laguiole, you can find a shop selling products developed by Maison Bras, or stay at the hotel adjoining Le Suquet. If you want to be more independent, you can stay at Val d'Aubrac, a modern and contemporary gite, just like the family.
