Coulant by Michel Bras: ‘No one will ever be able to take away from me the emotion after the first successful cooking tests’

There is a unique game in the coulant, something fun which is difficult to compare with other creations in which textures and temperatures collide and offer us an experience that is as sweet as it is stimulating. But this is just one of the infinite and unoriginal descriptions that have been made of one of the most revisited and copied desserts in history. Signed by Michel Bras nearly 40 years ago, its creation responds to the desire to emulate the emotion of enjoying a hot chocolate after a cold family day in the snow. Like everything in his kitchen, meditation and trial and error were refining the proposal until he found the exact formula, to which he would give a local accent with an aromatic touch of Aubriac flowers. If something defines the cuisine of this universal chef, it is the search for simplicity – there is no greater art than saying much with the right elements, and the coulant perfectly fulfills that purpose.

From so good.. magazine, at issue #25, we wanted to join the 40th anniversary of such a historic find, and we did so by interviewin coulant’s father and collecting the tributes of four other great professionals: Albert Adrià, Cedric Grolet, Oriol Balaguer and Emmanuel Ryon.

Discover So Good #25

Michel Bras was probably the first one who was surprised by the growing popularity of his coulant after its birth. Undoubtedly, his creation took off and all kinds of copies were made, some which made sense and other whose quality was beyond doubtful or which had been made without care. But all of them were the reflection of the same phenomenon, the consecration of a dessert that in a few years would become universal.

Today, we speak with Michel Bras after having left the kitchen more than 10 years ago; now that his son Sébastien is the bearer of the spirit of the house and responsible for the hundreds of reinterpretations that have happened there based on the original coulant au chocolat itself. With strawberries, figs, chestnuts, the spirit has always been the same, playing with the textures and temperatures of the same dessert and thus asserting the soul of a chef who, when preparing a dessert, does so with the soul of a chef. As he himself confesses ‘I cook as I live.’

I never imagined such an impact. But that was never my motivation. My life is all about cooking, I cook as I live.

What complexity hides a seemingly simple dessert like this one?

The complexity is seen in the fact of obtaining a fluid ganache (chocolate, butter and cream) that does not burn from the cooking of the chocolate cake.

What balance exists in the complexity/simplicity relationship within your cuisine?

I have always paid special attention so that technique is at the service of cuisine and not the other way around. Too often chefs put technique or image at the expense of gourmandise. Cooking should be above all gourmand.

There are only some ill-intentioned people who do not want to acknowledge my authorship, but after all… it does not matter!

How important is technical precision and how important is intuition to obtain a dessert like the coulant au chocolat?

It was the translation of an emotion that required a lot of reflection and testing. It took a long time to find a good balance between cake and coulant. At the beginning, in the 80s, I made up to four failed coulants before I got a decent one.

How many versions of the coulant have you and your son made?

Hundreds. All versions alike are the result of an idea, an emotion.

Did you imagine, before introducing the coulant, that it could ever reach the popularity and the impact that came later?

Certainly not. But that was never my motivation. My life is all about cooking, I cook as I live.

What is your opinion about your most popular and universal dish being a dessert and not a savory dish?

The Gargouillou is equally well recognized. It has generated another way of approaching vegetables. On the other hand, several years ago, the New York Times devoted a page to the Gargoillou as a phenomenon.

There is a great difference between a restaurant chef’s dessert and a pastry chef’s one. They are not created under the same conditions. A restaurant chef’s dessert is consumed at the moment.

Can we say that the coulant au chocolat is already one of the great classics of restaurant pastry?

Some may claim it that way, but I am very far from that ambition.

Do you consider that your authorship is sufficiently recognized?

There are only some ill-intentioned people who do not want to acknowledge my authorship, but after all… it does not matter!

What bothers you most about the copies and atrocities that have been made on behalf of the coulant?

There is no significant outrage to the extent that no one will ever be able to take away from me the emotion that invaded me after the first successful cooking tests.

How has the coulant influenced the way of understanding pastry in a gastronomic restaurant?

It is not for me to judge whether the coulant has influenced the restaurant pastry.

…depending on the circumstances, the company, the moment… In reality, there is room for all the offers.

Has restaurant dessert changed a lot in the last 40 years?

Yes, enormously. On the other hand, there is a great difference between a restaurant chef’s dessert and a pastry chef’s one. They are not created under the same conditions. A restaurant chef’s dessert is consumed at the moment.

What is the key for a restaurant dessert to be good?

Simply that the beauty of the dessert does not get in the way of how tasty it is.

Why are there universal classics that remain the unbeatable favorites of most diners? Does the customer have a conservative mindset when it comes to desserts?

We have both, they provide different pleasures, depending on the circumstances, the company, the moment… In reality, there is room for all the offers.

Desserts are more creative, more elaborate, more carefully conceived, with the continuous drifts of wanting to do too much or say too much. The interpretation of pastry must be fluid and, above all, gourmand.

What has surprised you the most (if anything) in recent years regarding desserts?

Yes, desserts have also followed the evolution of cuisine in recent decades. Desserts are more creative, more elaborate, more carefully conceived, with the continuous drifts of wanting to do too much or say too much. The interpretation of pastry must be fluid and, above all, gourmand. I never imagined such an impact. But that was never my motivation. My life is all about cooking, I cook as I live.

Discover Michel Bras coulant and the tributes of Cédric Grolet, Oriol Balaguer, Emmanuel Ryon and Albert Adrià in sogood #25