Bordeaux calling

ARTICLE - September 17, 2024

Explore the Marché des Capucins with Guillaume Goutard and Juliette Babinet, Manager and Chef of Deux Pièces Cuisine, a warm and inviting restaurant and wine bar serving freshly prepared creative cuisine, as they concoct three pairings with the wines of Cos d’Estournel.

As you follow Juliette and Guillaume down the aisles of the Marché des Capucins, you can’t help but feel the effervescence of the iconic market popular with locals, where professionals, regular customers and curious visitors cross paths. Guillaume has been making a weekly pilgrimage to the “Capu” since moving to Bordeaux in 2021, after working in the restaurant and wine import business in Hong Kong, Singapore and Saudi Arabia.

“I discovered the Marché des Capucins when I went to buy some of La Guitoune’s excellent bread. It’s the last covered market in Bordeaux that still attracts locals and remains authentic, where you go to buy your chicken, vegetables and sage, and where you can enjoy a dozen oysters and a glass of white wine while you’re at it!”

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A regular fixture, Juliette is in her natural element among the throngs of shoppers at the market. The young chef, who embraced her passion for cuisine only after pursuing literary studies, stops to say hello to Frédéric at the Kraken fish market. “He knows his fish inside and out,” she confides as she makes her selection. “He supplies the restaurant with tuna and squid, which I love working with.” And the fish, which comes straight from the fish markets along the Atlantic coast, couldn’t be any fresher!

So it is tuna that Guillaume selects for his first pairing, Pagodes de Cos Blanc 2021, a delectable wine with floral notes ideal for subliming the rich flavors of a tuna tataki seasoned with a light kick of wasabi.

A bit further along, Juliette pauses at Ambre’s stall. Ambre is a vegetable devotee who sells only organic and local produce and whose business is all about combining fine products and good people. “One of the organic growers I work with hires individuals undergoing vocational reintegration. It’s a perfect blend of quality products and the right values.” Juliette fills her basket at Ambre’s stall before moving on to La Cabane aux Aromates, whose magnificent selection of fresh herbs runs from the range from the usual parsley to shiso leaves. The grower feels at home in his stall: “The Capu is a lovely market, one that is still frequented by people from the neighborhood. It reminds me of my native Provence.”

Back in the restaurant’s kitchen, Juliette gets to work on her grilled squid and chorizo cream sauce. Guillaume, whose mastery of the restaurant’s wine selection—which lists wines by their aromatic characteristics—is unfailing, has already come up with the perfect pairing: “G d’Estournel 2020. It’s still young, vivacious and crisp, ideal for accompanying this dynamic Iberian-inspired recipe.”

Leaning against the turquoise bar that serves as a pass through between the dining room and kitchen, Guillaume serves up generous chuck-steak Gua Bao with ultra-reduced Thai-inflected gravy. “A dish with concentrated, rich flavors requires a very fine wine. Cos d’Estournel 2016 is intense and complex, a perfect match for this recipe.”

At Deux Pièces Cuisine, the recipe for success is a simple one: freshly prepared seasonal cuisine along with the conviviality of the kinds of small shops where people enjoy getting together, in the same way they do at the Marché des Capucins. For Guillaume and Juliette, it’s not just about the food being served; it’s also a question of merriness and sharing.

So come on in and let your summer spirit bask in the warm rays of the Bordeaux sun on one of the restaurant’s three balconies. Discover the team’s latest dishes and savor a glass of wine that is a perfect pairing for your dish as you enjoy a moment of pure delight and relaxation!

For groups of 8 people and more, the restaurant will concoct set menus so you may fully revel in the moment!