Few chefs capture the essence of the sea quite like Stephane Delourme Known for his refined yet deeply comforting style, Stephane has created a dish for this year’s Padstow Christmas Festival that bridges his Breton roots with Cornwall’s own outstanding seafood.
His Gratin à la Bretonne is both elegant and hearty — a showcase of layered flavours and textures built around the treasures of the ocean. Sea bass, scallops, mussels, and prawns are gently poached to retain their delicate sweetness, before being nestled into a creamy velouté enriched with white wine, lemon, and braised mushrooms. A scattering of buttery panko crumbs crowns the dish, which is baked until bubbling and golden.
This is a recipe that nods to tradition while highlighting Stephane’s flair for balance and depth. It embodies the spirit of coastal cooking: unpretentious, generous, and brimming with flavour. In Brittany, seafood gratins are a celebratory staple — here, Stephane gives it a Cornish stage, with the finest local catch at its heart.
For festival-goers, it’s more than just a dish; it’s a story of heritage, craft, and connection to the sea.
Gratin a la Bretonne with Sea Bass, Scallop, Mussels and Prawns
MAKES QUANTITY: 20
INGREDIENTS:
2 ltr Fish Stock
150g flour
150g butter – unsalted
200ml white wine
2 shallots
200ml double cream
2 lemons – juice of
1 sprig Thyme
1 Bay leaf
200g button mushrooms – stalks removed and thickly sliced
Panko breadcrumbs
Clarified butter
100ml white wine
25g butter
Per Portion
60g Bass, skinned
4 mussels
1 scallop
4 peeled prawns
METHOD:
Warm the fish stock with the thyme and bay, season and gently poach the sea bass and scallops for 1 minute – remove and chill. Strain the stock and keep warm for the veloute.
Open the mussels with the wine and shallot – reserving the liquor.
Make a roux and add the fish stock, white wine and mussel liquor (Be careful not to put the last bit in containing grit from the mussels), cook out then add the cream and season with salt and lemon juice.
Braise the mushrooms with no colour in 25g butter, 50 ml water and the juice from half a lemon, reserve liquor and add to the veloute.
Build the Dieppoise by putting a little veloute in the bottom of a scallop shell and layering up with ½ scallop 30g bass, 2 mussels, 2 prawns, 3-4 pieces of mushroom finishing off with a covering of veloute. Add some panko that has been mixed with a little clarified butter and bake for 10 minutes at 180 ºC.
Allergy info – dairy, gluten, shellfish, citrus