Doing without, but with purpose.

The first Michelin-starred establishment to ban gluten and lactose, the Auberge de la Fenière in Luberon paved the way for high-end cuisine that is also compatible with gluten and lactose intolerances and allergies. It is because she herself has suffered from these issues since birth that Nadia Sammut developed recipes she can eat, cook, and pass on. 'I was born with celiac disease and I live permanently with an imbalance in the small intestine, an enzymatic deficiency to gluten protein, and a depletion of gut flora. In my case, even the smallest trace or presence of gluten triggers severe reactions instantly,' she writes in her book, published in 2020 by Actes Sud. On the cover, she is seen playing with her buckwheat, chickpea, and chestnut flours. A game—that's how the chef, who aspires to 'build a world with better taste,' views gluten-free cooking. It's a space for creativity where tastes and textures are set free. 'I wanted to work with precision: sourdoughs, techniques, living flours, free bread-making. I invested in a stone mill, which appeared to me as the object of all my desires and possibilities.'

Gastronomic Imprint
Through countless trials, errors, more trials, and refinements, Nadia Sammut has forged an entirely original repertoire of recipes as vibrant as she is, without any additives. "I studied biochemistry, and that helps me a lot when working with plant-based ingredients or bread-making. I trained myself, cooking in the kitchen where my mother gave me a small space to experiment with recipes," she explains. "I started crushing chestnuts, chickpeas, grains... I began imagining desirable futures with legumes, so they could find their way into everyone's pantry."
Among Nadia's culinary obsessions, chickpeas and almonds reign supreme. Crafting a perfect chickpea milk for a creamy, flavorful ice cream, using the traditional Provençal panisse as a base for a plant-based lemon curd, and incorporating almond cream whipped with shellfish water to coat a piece of sea bream marinated in shio koji... the possibilities with these two ingredients from the Luberon region are endless, making wheat, butter, or cream easily forgotten.
"What I was missing was a gastronomic imprint: there was no bread-making or pastry (that suited her diet, editor's note), only substitute products. I told myself that it was up to me to pave the way, because I’m lucky to come from this environment and, most of all, to be alive!"

A Relentless Pursuit
Ever the perfectionist, chef Nadia Sammut not only invested in a stone mill but also created Kom&Sal, her brand of organic gluten- and lactose-free products aimed at professionals in the industry. She even went further, working with agricultural high schools in the region to plant organic chickpea, buckwheat, and sorghum plots. Nothing is left to chance by this entrepreneur and her team, who are busy in the production lab attached to the Michelin-starred restaurant: "If I want to convince my peers in the fields of gastronomy, bakery, and pastry, the product must be excellent and the techniques well-developed," explains Nadia as she stirs her buckwheat sourdough, which she has used for over eight years and even named Jean-Pierre.
In the lab, racks are filled with buckwheat or corn breads, chocolate cakes, and delicious cookies, all ready to be sent to the kitchens of hotels or restaurants that don’t always have the capacity to produce a gluten- and lactose-free range. Inventing, cooking, and transforming? Yes, but she is determined not to leave professionals behind. Nadia is passionate about sharing knowledge as much as flavors, and she supports bakers and pastry chefs by offering them training as well as ready-to-use flour mixes.
One buckwheat loaf at a time, Nadia Sammut’s nourishing approach, as virtuous as it is delicious, inspires and makes you want to work with her rather than without.

By Laurène Petit

Photos Claire Gaby