His sister, Patricia, a talented artist, came to Connecticut to do all the paintings, he said, while his mother, back home in France, sewed the table linens and curtains from measurements he sent her. From the menu to the dcor to the kitchen and wait staff who easily chat back and forth in French, the restaurant offers an authentic taste of southern France.
"It is important in a French restaurant to have a French staff," said Jean, explaining that he sponsors the employees who come to work at the restaurant. Most of his staff have been with him for five years or more, he said, and have attended French culinary schools.
Open for lunch and dinner, the bistro is just a short walk from the train station and offers French classics with a Mediterranean flair, said the owner.
"We call it a bistro instead of a restaurant because we serve good-sized portions," he said.
Everything is made on the premises, said Jean, opening boxes of bok choy, oysters and other fresh vegetables he had just picked up at a market in Orange. "All the sauces everything is
The restaurant is especially known for its seafood, he said, thanks to the talents of his former partner and executive chef Etienne Menozzi, a native of Corsica. Menozzi retired in January after almost 50 years as a chef and Jean said he and his customers have missed him. But, while Menozzi may be gone, the restaurant continues to offer the traditional foods he so lovingly prepared, including a hearty bouillabaisse, duck with orange sauce and escargot with blue cheese sauce. "He was a character," said Jean about his friend. "He has a big, big heart ... people loved him.
"Many dishes [Menozzi made] we can't take off the menu. He was always surprising me, coming out with new ideas like avocado stuffed with blue cheese," said Jean.
Speaking through a translator in a phone interview from his home in Venice, Fla., Menozzi said he loved the challenge of creating new dishes for the restaurant and still cooks at home. But, now that he's retired, his days are happily spent fishing or relaxing on the beach.
The new chef de cuisine, Sylvestre Zenoni, was Menozzi's sous chef. Born in Evian, France, Zenoni graduated from the culinary school of Annecy in 1987 and worked in several restaurants in France and Switzerland before joining the staff at Saint-Tropez in 2002.
On a fine May afternoon at the bistro, Bob Wright, retired vice chairman of GE and CEO of NBC Universal, and his wife Suzanne were finishing lunch at a corner table near the front window. The Fairfield couple, who also has a home in New York, comes to the restaurant whenever they can, said Suzanne Wright, and they both miss Menozzi.
"He is a wonderful chef, but the kitchen hasn't lost [its] touch. This is the best restaurant we've ever eaten in and I eat out for a living," quipped Bob Wright, commenting on his busy life. He also praised the restaurant's service and the fish soup.
"The mark of a good restaurant is the fish soup," Wright said. "I love fresh soups and fish-based entrees that chefs serve with classic sauces. You have all that here and it's very reasonable." Served in a tall, white ceramic bowl with croutons on the side, the flavorful fish soup takes two days to prepare, starting with simmering salmon bones, lobster shells and vegetables. It's on the menu every day and is very popular, Jean said. For lunch, we tasted beautifully presented crab cakes with a creamy sauce made with homemade mayonnaise and a bite of cayenne pepper, steak with peppercorn sauce and a scrumptious chocolate molten cake swimming in a pool of chocolate sauce. All I can say, is Bob Wright was right about the delectable sauces making the meal.
Jean said about 75 percent of his clientele are repeat customers, like the Wrights, who were already planning on returning the next day.
"I love Fairfield," said Jean, who recently sold another restaurant he owned in New Canaan. "There is an ambience between the customers and us; they support us."
But Jean also believes in supporting the community. He said he often helps with events for charitable organizations such as the American Red Cross, the American Liver Foundation and St. Vincent's Swim Across the Sound. For the victims of the tsunami a few years ago, the restaurant raised $10,000, he said, with the waiters donating their tips for the cause. On July 13, as he does every year, there will be a street fair in front of the restaurant to celebrate Bastille Day (July 14). On June12, a belly dancer will entertain customers, Jean said, mentioning that he also hosts wine dinners and always tries to have something special going on at the restaurant.
Five years ago, he added the wildly popular "O" Bar, a martini bar and lounge, to the bistro and recently started catering.
But at home, his wife is the head chef, Jean said. "She's a very good cook." The couple expects their first child in December.
Jean, 41, has come a long way since he first came to the United States 12 years ago. Even though he didn't speak a word of English, within a week of landing in New York City he said he found a job as a busboy, working long, hard hours. Today as a restaurant owner he continues to work hard, logging in at least 65 to 75 hours a week, but he shrugs off the daunting numbers with a smile. "If you work hard, you can have the opportunity to have your dream," he said. Owning a restaurant, Jean said, "is exciting."
Saint -Tropez Bistro, 52 Sanford St., Fairfield, is open for lunch Monday through Saturday from noon to 2:30 p.m. and for dinner Monday through Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The "O" Bar is open Sunday through Friday from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Call 254-8094 or visit the Web site at www.saint-tropez-bistro.com.
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