Canard à la Rouennaise
Canard au sang, prepared at your table
At the table
Au Vieux Port is one of the few restaurants that still has this dish on the menu. It has been there since our first day and has never left it. The duck arrives whole at the carving table. Your waiter carves it in front of you: first the legs are taken off, then the breast is carved. What remains, the carcass, goes into the silver press. In the press the juices are drawn out, drop by drop, collected and strained. With those juices the sauce, prepared beforehand, is finished at your table. Only then does it go over the meat. Our maître Tom Schoonbaert has passed this technique on with care, so that our whole dining-room team masters it.
The duck
Only young ducks from Challans. The duck we use is a cross between a wild and a domestic duck, with dark, blood-rich meat. The dish comes in two courses. First the breast, with pommes Dauphine. Then the leg, confit, with pommes soufflées. It takes the time it takes, and that is the point. If you are in a hurry, please let us know in advance.
Wine and booking
Our sommelier recommends a wine from the northern Rhône: a Syrah from Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage or Cornas. A mature Bordeaux does the job just as well. A whole duck serves two, so the dish is always served for two people. € 65 per person. We keep duck in the house, so there is no need to order ahead. If you would like to be certain, two days' notice is plenty. During the game season, ordering in advance is required.