A few words about your restaurant
From his restaurant Substrat located in Lyon’s Croix Rousse neighbourhood to Food Traboule and including his So6 La Saucissonerie, Hubert Vergoin showcases all his creativity, passion and touch of madness. As a sommelier, he personally knows all the winemakers on his wine list. As a chef, he enhances the freshly-picked produce to serve up plates full of colours, flavours and surprises. At Substrat – his neo-bistro housed in a former artisan’s workshop in Croix Rousse – the charm works: the venue, the dishes created from scratch and the wines, very often from local growers, enchant diners. At So6 La Saucissonerie, typical brasserie cuisine is what makes the place tick. Two venues, two atmospheres, but the spirit of sharing is ever-present, with a focus on Beaujolais wines. Hubert Vergoin is one of our award winners of the year!
A few words about you
“After training as a sommelier, I began my career at Chez Monsieur Paul at L’Auberge, as an apprentice. Next I worked as a sommelier in a wine shop and wine bar in the south and in Lyon until 2008. After that, I opened my first business, a cave à manger sandwich shop in Tassin-la-Demi-Lune and the restaurant Substrat on Thursday, November 21, 2013 just in time for the Beaujolais Nouveau festivities!”
A few words about your restaurant
“Substrat is in line with the neo-bistro style, with easy-drinking wines and freshly-picked produce… inspirational cuisine based on herbs, mushrooms and garden veggies.”
An anecdote (or two) from behind the scenes
“When the restaurant first opened, the desserts weren’t quite up to par. We worked hard to make them stand out, especially the ice cream that I love: I wanted to make chef desserts with homemade ice cream in original flavours, for example: a slice of gingerbread topped with cep ice cream, olive oil ice cream served on a white chocolate biscuit, or fresh strawberries served with sheep’s cheese ice cream… One day, a customer asked if we could ‘just’ serve him a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert. I think he thought we had a freezer full of ice cream flavours. We even offered to serve him a bit of whipped cream with it, before politely telling him no way!”
A beaujolais wine-and-food pairing
“A surprising food and wine pairing is with oysters and a Fleurie wine, for example!”
Why are you so attached to the Beaujolais region?
“Gamay runs in my blood! It’s like the Rhône and Saône rivers… I like the very Gallic side of this region and also its genuine organic-nature avant-garde approach.” (an avant-gardist approach, a new generation)
One of your “favourite” winegrowers and why
“Julien Sunier. He’s a friend. We started out together in 2008.”
