D’Chez Eux and Perfect Roast Chicken

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose,”  an epigram coined in 1849 by French journalist Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, has traveled through time, been translated into different languages (English: the more things change, the more they stay the same) and morphed into a proverb. Used by a variety of people around the world, including statesmen, writers, moms and rockers (Bon Jovi), the statement fits many situations, but it especially rings true in it’s native tongue when applied to the Paris restaurant D’Chez Eux. 

D'Chez Eux by Susan Manlin Katzman

Restaurant D’Chez Eux started life in the 18th century as a coaching inn where travelers on the way to Paris would spend the night and enjoy a worthy meal.

Today the restaurant still serves worthy meals to travelers (among them Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon and Vladimir Putin), to statesmen (François Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy), and to a variety of food-loving locals, writers, moms and songbirds. 

The more D’Chez Eux changes (owners, staff and a plunge into social media via Website and Facebook), the more it stays the same. 

For much of its history, D’Chez Eux has enjoyed:

The same location at 2 Avenue Lowendal (Paris 7ème).

Restaurant D'Chez Eux in the Rain by Susan Manlin Katzman

 

The same cozy country ambiance. 

Inside and Out of D'Chez Eux

Inside and Out of D’Chez Eux

 

The same traditional menu with the same popular entrées (starters).

Foie gras de canard truffé de l’Auberge (Home-made truffled duck foie gras)

Foie gras de canard truffé de l’Auberge (Home-made truffled duck foie gras)

 

Cuisses de grenouilles fraîches, pointe d’ail (Pan-sautéed fresh frog legs in garlic butter)

Cuisses de grenouilles fraîches, pointe d’ail (Pan-sautéed fresh frog legs in garlic butter)

 

Escargots de Bourgogne en pots au beurre d’ail et d’echalote (Burgundy snails in shallots and garlic butter)

Escargots de Bourgogne en pots au beurre d’ail et d’echalote (Burgundy snails in shallots and garlic butter)

 

The same type excellent staff. 

First Maître (head honcho, general manager, keeper of the keys) Dominique Palvadeau

First Maître (head honcho, general manager, all around charmer) Dominique Palvadeau

The same good wine list; the same huge portions; and the same high prices (read on).

Last but not least, the restaurant boasts the same, famed, acclaimed speciality of the house: Poulet rôti “La coucou de Rennes” race ancienne, aux girolles (Roast free-range chicken with fresh chanterelle mushrooms.) Cost for two listed at 98.00€ or about $131.

Poulet rôti “La coucou de Rennes” race ancienne, aux girolles (Roast free-range chicken with fresh chanterelle mushrooms.

Poulet rôti “La coucou de Rennes” race ancienne, aux girolles (Roast free-range chicken with fresh chanterelle mushrooms.)

 

Chef Bertrand Gautreau

Bertrand Gautreau

 Chef Bertrand Gautreau freely shares the restaurant’s original recipe, even inviting those interested to the kitchen to watch him cook. That said, the Coucou de Rennes, is an ancient breed of chicken raised today by about a dozen farmers producing about 30,000 chickens a year. The quality and taste of the meat of this chicken is considered unparalleled, which means that even with detailed instructions, D’Chez Eux’s roast chicken will be impossible to duplicate unless you start with the same breed bird.

On the other hand, find the best quality, free-range, farm-raised chicken, follow this recipe and you can produce a tasty facsimile.

 

ROAST CHICKEN a la RESTAURANT D’CHEZ EUX

Yield: 2 to 4 servings.

Coucou de Rennes ready for the oven at D'Chez Eux

Coucou de Rennes ready for the oven at D’Chez Eux

One 2- to 3-pound top quality, farm-raised chicken

Kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

About 2 tablespoons butter

About 3 cups chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and if necessary, sliced.

About 3/4 cup rich, flavorful broth

About 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rinse chicken, then dry very well with paper towels, inside and out. 

Salt and pepper the chicken’s cavity. Twist wing tips behind back and tie legs together. Place chicken, breasts side up, in a roasting pan. Sprinkle salt and pepper over chicken. 

Chanterelles ready to cook at D'Chez Eux

Chanterelles ready to cook at D’Chez Eux

Place chicken in preheated oven, and roast until evenly browned and cooked through, 40 to 50 minutes. (While roasting, turn the chicken, back side up, so that it browns evenly, then turn, again, breast side up to finish roasting.  Baste with pan juices, if the chicken seems dry.) 

Shortly before chicken is cooked, melt about 1 tablespoon butter in a sauté pan, add chanterelles and sauté

Chanterelles cooking at D'Chez Eux

Chanterelles cooking at D’Chez Eux

over high heat a few minutes to release any water. Cover mushrooms with a little broth, bring to a boil, and reduce broth by half.

Remove chicken from pan (put on a cutting board). 

Deglaze roasting pan with broth and add to mushrooms. Boil mushrooms at high heat to reduce liquid to about  1/3 cup. Swirl in a little butter and sprinkle with chopped parsley. 

Place chicken on top of mushrooms and serve immediately.

Poulet rôti La coucou de Rennes ready to serve at D'Chez Eux

Poulet rôti La coucou de Rennes ready to serve at D’Chez Eux