Soupe VGE (Soupe aux truffes Paul Bocuse)
Photo: Classiccardinal · CC BY-SA 3.0

History

Paul Bocuse created this dish on 25 February 1975 when the Elysee Palace held a lunch in his honour at which President Valery Giscard d'Estaing presided; hence VGE. Bocuse designed the pastry dome as a personal flourish, the dome echoing the shape of the palace roof above. The dish has remained on the menu at L'Auberge du Pont de Collonges unchanged since that day, and is now Lyon's most-replicated dish: every serious bouchon kitchen has a truffle broth on the winter carte that traces its DNA back to Bocuse's original.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 40 minTotal 2 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 1 litre rich beef consomme (clarified stock), warm
  • 100g beef tenderloin, cut in small dice
  • 50g foie gras, cut in small dice
  • 30g black truffle, thinly sliced
  • 4 carrots and 4 mushrooms, finely diced and sweated in butter
  • 1 sheet ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry
  • 1 egg, beaten

Method

  1. Divide the beef, foie gras, truffle, carrot and mushroom between four oven-safe soup bowls or individual ramekins.
  2. Pour the warm consomme over to fill the bowls to about 2cm below the rim.
  3. Cut the puff pastry into rounds 3cm wider than the bowl diameter. Brush the rims with beaten egg and press the pastry lids firmly onto the rims to seal.
  4. Brush the pastry with egg wash and score lightly with a knife. Refrigerate 15 minutes to set the seal.
  5. Bake at 220C for 18 to 22 minutes until the pastry is deep golden and domed. Serve immediately; the guest cracks the dome at the table.

Tip from the editors. The consomme must be at 70C minimum when you fill the bowls or the truffle aroma does not cook into the broth under the crust.

Where to eat soupe vge (soupe aux truffes paul bocuse)

Soupe VGE (Soupe aux truffes Paul Bocuse) in Lyon

L'Auberge du Pont de Collonges (Paul Bocuse) 2 ★ ★ 4.7

€€€€ Tasting €295 to €445French fine diningChef Olivier Couvin

Paul Bocuse's L'Auberge du Pont de Collonges sits on the Saone north of Lyon, the dining room that held three Michelin stars from 1965 to 2020.

OrderSoupe aux truffes VGE, the 1975 dish for Valery Giscard d'Estaing, still on the carte.

Book6 weeks ahead

TipA taxi from central Lyon takes 25 minutes; the suburb is unfit for walking back.

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