Autumn menu: squash, mushrooms and game

By Frédéric Barthels · 22/10/2026

When the days get shorter, we crave round, deep flavours. Autumn is the ideal season for entertaining at the table: we gather, take our time, and the produce is at its peak.

Autumn produce

Squash: red kuri, pumpkin, butternut. Red kuri needs no peeling; its skin turns tender when cooked.
Mushrooms: chanterelles, ceps, oyster mushrooms, button mushrooms for a soup or a meat garnish.
Chestnuts: in soup, as a purée or alongside game.
Pears, quinces and grapes: poached in wine, roasted, or as a condiment for meat.
Game: venison, pheasant, deer. Cooked pink, properly rested, with a robust jus is all you need.

Beef, rocket and Parmesan shavings on a board — A piece of meat seared, sliced and plated at the table.

An autumn menu for 12 guests

This is the kind of menu I like to put together in this season, then adapt to your tastes and your guests:

Bite-sized starters: Parmesan croquettes, mushroom toasts, mini tartlets.
Starter: squash soup with chestnuts and hazelnut oil (recipe below).
Main course: cut of meat or game, reduced jus, celeriac purée, roasted autumn vegetables.
Dessert: pear poached in spiced wine, vanilla ice cream.

Squash soup, chestnuts and hazelnut oil

Serves 4 · 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 red kuri squash of about 1 kg
1 onion, 1 potato
80 g cooked chestnuts
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
10 cl cream
Hazelnut oil, butter, salt, pepper

Method

Cut the squash into cubes without peeling. Slice the onion, peel the potato.
Sweat the onion in butter, add the squash and potato, and pour in the stock.
Simmer gently for 25 minutes, then blend until smooth. Add the cream and adjust the seasoning.
Serve with crumbled chestnuts and a drizzle of hazelnut oil.

Tip: the soup can be made the day before and gently reheated.

Why at home?

An autumn meal is best enjoyed in a warm atmosphere, not a noisy hall. At your home, your guests stay at the table as long as they like. I prepare, cook and serve on site; you have no shopping and no kitchen washing-up to deal with.

The Taste Menu starts at €59 incl. VAT per person (from 12 guests), the gastronomic menu at €78 incl. VAT (from 8 guests).

Fancy an autumn meal at your home?

Shopping, cooking on site, service and clearing up: you enjoy your guests. Reply within 48 h, free quote.

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