With Acte 2, Yannick Delpech returns to the Toulouse stage

Less than four months after putting an end to his "clandestine" table d'hôtes, where Yannick Delpech hosted intimate dinners in his Gaillac home, the chef from the Tarn region is back on the gastronomic scene. The Des Roses et des Orties chef has decided to create a new kind of repertoire, influenced by his previous experience, from which he retains a taste for closeness with guests. Only fifteen people per dinner are welcomed to this deliberately no-fuss, but not soulless restaurant, where every culinary style is possible. The new Toulouse haunt, entitled Acte 2, which opened on December¹, 2023, is a perfect allegory of the various professions he has embodied, from pastry chef to charcutier. Interview.

Why did you decide to close your table d'hôtes and open a new project in Toulouse?

Yannick Delpech: Even though L'Amphitryon has taken a completely different direction in 2019, becoming an address combining bakery, patisserie, crafts and charcuterie, guests at the table d'hôtes in Gaillac kept talking to me about the gourmet restaurant. So I started thinking about a concept that would combine gastronomy with the spirit of my table d'hôtes. I wanted to get back into gastronomy, without resurrecting the Amphitryon and its 45-strong brigade. I wanted to keep the freedom in the kitchen and the conviviality I enjoyed in Gaillac.

Apart from the closeness to your guests, what has table d'hôtes brought you as a chef?

Y.D.: We can do anything and everything we want: traditional dishes, gourmet platters... We have the opportunity to change the menu every day.

In Gaillac, have you tested any dishes with your customers to see what would work?

Y.D.: That was my laboratory for my other establishments! I tested a lot of recipes and flavor combinations. There, I went to the market in the morning, wrote the menu and served in the evening.

For all that, Acte 2 does not take on all the characteristics of the table d'hôtes. The 15 guests are now spread throughout the room...

Y.D.: Depending on demand, I'll sometimes get everyone together to orchestrate a table d'hôtes, especially when I'm cooking sharing dishes like a fine pithiviers. Customers will of course be informed in advance.

By mixing culinary genres, the concept of Acte 2 is likely to be unclassifiable. What is your goal in terms of recognition?

Y.D.: That's something I've never thought about. I've been lucky enough to be highly rated for many years. If I were again, of course, I'd be delighted. I don't do my project to get a grade. In any case, I haven't followed the codes that would allow me to have this kind of recognition.

When you break down barriers, in this case culinary ones, do you enjoy cooking more?

Y.D.: Absolutely! And I think it's going to become increasingly important in French gastronomy. The restaurant has to be open, not elitist. At my table, it's the chef who explains his dish and how he made it.

That said, do you think customers expect such a mix of genres? We treat ourselves to a gastronomic experience to celebrate major events, we like to choose a casual bistronomic address to go out with friends at the weekend...

Y.D.: French gastronomy has become bogged down in too many codes and formalities. It's only been liberating itself in the last four or five years. For many diners, who will only treat themselves to a gourmet restaurant ten times in their lives, it's intimidating to go to these narrow establishments. By removing all the barriers, the gastronomic experience like the one I offer becomes more accessible.

We know of your attachment to your region and its producers. Does the culinary direction of Acte 2 revolve mainly around local produce?

Y.D.: I'm going to adapt my dishes as much as possible to local products, but I won't stop myself from using dried bonito if I have an idea, for example.

Since you've decided to break with codes, does the notion of signature dishes still exist ?

Y.D. : It's not me who defines them, but the customers. If a lot of customers ask me for a dish they like, of course I'll prepare it for them.

And can they order one of your dishes from the Amphitryon period?

Y.D.: No, there aren't any. However, on each of the plates, you'll find a wink to the charcuterie, pastry and bakery connotations, like an evocation of the various craft activities I've launched since the Amphitryon. For example, I make a barbecued pigeon sausage with herring saur, served with a violet mustard sabayon. Following my meeting with caviar producers in the Val d'Aran, in the Pyrenees, I decided to revisit the crêpe vonnassienne, which I serve alongside a cauliflower brioche, French toast style. And I'm preparing a dessert with a chocolate made from sheep's milk, using cocoa beans from chocolatiers located in Aubrac who carry out all the manufacturing stages, right from the roasting (Lucifèves d'Aubrac).

Further information

• Acte 2, 1 rue Panebœuf, Toulouse. Open Tuesday to Saturday evenings, lunchtime on request.
• Reservations on 06 79 92 77 30