The gourmet break with Hubert Giblet*
Today I am bringing you an article with a lot of nerve. Yes, it takes a lot of nerve to include burgers in a series of articles on gastronomy… And Benoît Sanchez from the Tatoué Toqué has a lot of nerve, too. He opened his restaurant in January 2021, at a time when restaurants could not even serve customers at the dining table. Of course, the dishes were well adapted to take away service, and customers were soon hurrying to enjoy them. It is hardly surprising, because Benoît’s burgers are divine!
A wonderful, crazy chef
Le Tatoué Toqué – Benoît Sanchez
Benoît Sanchez may specialise in burgers but of course he is still a “real” chef! True, he has swapped his chef’s hat for a baseball cap, more in line with his image, with his tattoos and biker/rock ‘n’ roll look. But Benoît Sanchez is in fact a traditionally trained cook. He won his spurs in the best restaurants in London, Madrid and Haute-Savoie. He is also a member of the Académie Nationale de Cuisine.
By choosing to specialise in the deliciously filled bread rolls, he has followed all the foundations of gastronomy: finding the right recipes, selecting local suppliers, using fresh ingredients, buns made in house, painstaking cooking and serving… And his work has won many awards: 3 French burger cups, the first prize at the Burgers Toqués contest, the title of world vice-champion for burgers in 2022 and lastly world burger champion in 2023 at the World Food Championships in Dallas! Want to taste?
Le Tatoué Toqué, in the old town of Tours.
The “Hambourgeau”, a shop window for local gastronomy
The Touraine-style burger is to die for! Along with the high-quality beefburger itself, cooked just as you like it, there is a shallot puree with (house!) honey mustard, Touraine Tomme cheese, rillons – Touraine-style cracklings – deglazed with raspberry vinegar and rocket. Delicious!!!
The Hambourgeau, a burger made with Touraine specialities!
The lobster burger, supremely refined
A burger made from lobster! That’s right, with blue lobster from Brittany, nice and fresh, since it is delivered each morning from a partner fishmonger!!! Lightly seared with house lobster oil, a house lemon mayonnaise, baby spinach, radish pickles, mini sprouts of dill and coriander (from Géo Pousse Tout, for local connoisseurs). Don’t miss out on this indescribable taste experience. To be on the safe side, order ahead of time, because the burger series are limited.
Let’s hope that the Tatoué Toqué can soon open up fully. It is a real restaurant (also serving salads and delicious desserts), with great wine and beer lists, as well as a small fine-food section with very high quality products (spices by Terre Exotique, honey made with the Rucher de la Dame Blanche…)
Three French burger cups!
Touraine honey from the fine-food section
Benoit Sanchez, LE Tatoué Toqué!
The two Tatoué Toqué restaurants
31 Rue Briçonnet – 37 000 Tours / 02 47 47 89 38
16 Place du Maréchal Joffre (L’Horloge shopping centre) – 37100 Tours / 02 34 53 53 39
www.facebook.com/letatouetoque
Open from Monday to Saturday.
Good to know: you can find other great gastronomic burgers at Frenchy’s Burger (Tours) and at the Hardwood Burger Bar (Montbazon).
* Hubert Giblet, gourmet and food-lover, runs the Automnales Gastronomy Festival for the Azay-Chinon Val de Loire Tourist Office.