Carla Kirsch, chef at Alebrije

© Susie Waroude

Franco-Mexican fusion

This graduate of Institut Paul Bocuse produces dishes with a mixed identity, borrowing from the best French and Mexican gastronomy has to offer. Knuckle of piglet roasted with hazelnuts, plantain croquetas filled with ox cheek, Bavarian cream with vanilla and tequila-flambéed strawberries… The combinations of tastes from these two cultures provide an infinite palette for her art. She is helped by the fact that many producers have begun to grow the exotic fruit and vegetables that were lacking when she arrived here. There is one ingredient that she misses terribly, however: the poblano, a green chili pepper “that isn’t spicy”. She has been searching for it for seven years, without success. But this chef has more than one trick up her sleeve. By mixing wild garlic and green bell peppers, she manages to recreate some of its flavour.

Quenelle addict

Carla’s face lights up when she talks about Mexican cuisine. “You could eat a different Mexican dish every day for a year,” muses the thirty-something chef, who is sorry to see the gastronomy of her country too often limited to street food. Her favourite Mexican recipe is chiles en nogada, a dish of stuffed chiles topped with a walnut sauce, which is made for the national day celebrations of the 15th of September, as its colours represent the national flag. In France, she enjoys tacos as much as she does saucisson, wine, cheese and the dishes served in Lyon’s traditional bouchons, of which her favourite is quenelles de brochet (pike dumplings). “When I was a student, I had a job at Malartre in Les Halles. It was the only dish I wanted for lunch!” She passes on the andouillette, however.

Her favourite dishes: chiles en nogada and quenelles!

“Preservivore”

Carla has worked in the kitchens of Troisgros and the restaurant Saisons alongside Davy Tissot, but she cut her teeth working with Florent Poulard in the restaurants of Monsieur P (Bocuse), first on Rue Royale and then Place des Célestins. It is thanks to him that she recently joined the team of chefs at Les Confinades, an initiative created in Lyon during France’s first lockdown that uses local fruit and vegetable rejects to make delicious preserves, saving them from destruction. This anti-waste action has already produced eight recipes, including poached pears with hibiscus, persimmon chutney with smoked peppers, apple caramel with salted butter and cauliflower caviar with candied garlic and ginger. “Being part of this project is a refreshing change from my usual work routine,” enthuses the young lady. Now there’s something to add some spice to her day-to-day life as a Lyonnaise chef.

Bio express

• 1991 : Born in Veracruz, in the Gulf of Mexico.
• 2013 : Arrived in Lyon.
• 2017 : Awarded a Bachelors in Culinary Art by the Institut Paul Bocuse.
• 2021 : Opening of the restaurant Alebrije.