Au Crocodile
| Au Crocodile | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1971 |
| Current owner(s) | Cedric Moulot |
| Chef | Ludovic Kientz |
| Food type | Classic French |
| Street address | 10 r. de l'Outre F - 67000 |
| City | Strasbourg |
| State | Alsace |
| Country | France |
| Reservations | Recommended |
| Website |
www |
Au Crocodile is a formerly Michelin Guide starred French restaurant in Strasbourg, named after a stuffed crocodile. It previously held three stars under former chef Emile Jung.
History
The restaurant was named after a stuffed crocodile that a local general brought back from overseas whilst on Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in Egypt and Syria,[1] and which is hung over the foyer.[2] In 1921, the prominent French gastronomic journalist Curnonsky (nicknamed the "Prince of Gastronomy") wrote about Au Crocodile, and the stuffed crocodile in the foyer.[3]
Emile Jung and his wife Monique took over the restaurant in 1971 and, in 1989, it was awarded three Michelin stars.[3] In 2002, it lost one of them. Jung said, "No words can ease the pain that eats at our hearts and that has killed our spirits".[4] Some of Jung's colleagues took out a full-page advertisement to show their support.[4]
Au Crocodile is popular with European MPs from the nearby Seat of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.[5] The restaurant has been used as a site for discussing international relations: in May 2010 the Prime Minister of Albania Sali Berisha and his opposition leader Edi Rama were summoned to a meeting there by members of the European Union.[6] Chef Philippe Bohrer purchased the restaurant in 2010 from Jung for more than a million Euros. Since 2015 and under the new leadership of Cedric Moulot Au Crocodile in Strasbourg reborn today. The chef Ludovic Kientz and Cedric Moulot embody the revival of this Prestigious Address.
Le Crocodile in Vancouver, Canada, was named after Au Crocodile after chef Michel Jacob visited the French restaurant as a young man.[7]
Reception
Eric Knowles visited Strasbourg in May 2006 for The Mail on Sunday and ate at Au Crocodile, describing it as a "temple of gastronomy".[8]
Travel guide Fodor's described the dishes of chef Bohrer as "dazzling", and thought that the interior was "aglow".[1] The review by fellow travel guide Frommer's also thought favourably of the interior of the restaurant, and described the dishes as "inventive", saying their "major problem comes only when the bill ... arrives".[9]
References
- 1 2 "Au Crocodile". Fodor's. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
- ↑ "Au Crocodile". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
- 1 2 De Sagarra, Joan (14 November 1999). "Au crocodile". El Pais (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 September 2012.
- 1 2 Gecker, Jocelyn (21 April 2002). "In France, A Star is Borne Away". Albany Times. Retrieved 7 September 2012. (subscription required)
- ↑ Horne, Nigel (2 March 2005). "Feasting in a gastro hub". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 7 September 2012. (subscription required)
- ↑ "Dancing, but not moving; Albania's political deadlock". The Economist. 12 June 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2012. (subscription required)
- ↑ Stainsby, Mia (1 February 2005). "Le Crocodile". Town & Country. Retrieved 7 September 2012. (subscription required)
- ↑ Knowles, Eric (21 May 2006). "Strasbourg's gastro roadshow". The Mail on Sunday. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
- ↑ "Au Crocodile". Frommer's. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
Coordinates: 48°35′01″N 7°44′51″E / 48.583702°N 7.747483°E