Restaurant in a butcher shop

Laëtitia Visse runs La Femme du boucher, a restaurant located in a former butcher shop in the center of Marseille, which she opened in 2020. The space reflects her focus on meat and traditional recipes that are often overlooked in modern cuisine.

Menu of offal and meat

Her restaurant specializes in homemade offal, tripe, and meat dishes, offering a menu that celebrates less common cuts of meat. She plans to prepare a Rossini tournedos, a classic dish made with beef fillet, using the trimmings for jus and the fat for fries.

Sustainable use of beef

Visse has 55 kilograms of beef déhanché in her cold room, which she will cut to serve well-raised Charolais beef. She aims to use every gram without wasting or charging excessive prices, ensuring both sustainability and affordability.

Culinary approach and atmosphere

Though not trained as a butcher or charcutier, Visse has created a space where families and larger groups gather. The restaurant blends the atmosphere of a steakhouse with that of a gastro spot, emphasizing accessibility and technical skill in her cooking.

Family background and influences

Visse’s parents are opera singers specializing in baroque music, and they support her culinary career. They see running a restaurant as a natural extension of a concert, where passion and performance are central.

Culinary education and repertoire

She graduated in cooking and patisserie from Ferrandi Paris and has developed a deep interest in pâté, becoming a "pâté geek." Her menu includes dishes such as Beef Wellington, stuffed piglet, and black pudding, which she later documented in her book Le Festin des bons vivants.

Personal touches in the kitchen

The open kitchen at La Femme du boucher faces the dining room, which Visse views as her stage. She compares her role to that of a musician, with recipes replacing musical scores, and she finds excitement in the service, like the anticipation of a performance.

Symbol of friendship

An Orthodox incense burner, a gift from her friend Mikaela Liaroutsos, chef of Etsi in Paris, sits in her kitchen. Purchased in Athens, the burner serves as a good luck charm, and though it has only been used once, the friendship remains strong.