As a young child in Lyon, France, Bjorn Jacobse was raised on a very particular diet.
“My mom used to make ratatouille, and she would put it all in the blender and make a purée of eggplant, tomato and summer squash,” something Jacobse’s Norwegian-Minnesotan great-grandmother did not endorse. Luckily, Jacobse’s French side won out, even after moving to south Minneapolis. “It wasn’t until I was old enough to understand, how awesome it was to be eating something like ratatouille as baby food,” he said.
Eggplant will play a starring role — when it’s in season, at least — on the menu at Aubergine, a new French restaurant Jacobse is opening with his wife, Megan Jacobse. The name of the restaurant? It’s the French word for the purple nightshade.
Aubergine is projected to open in November in St. Paul’s Cathedral Hill, in the space formerly occupied by Revival, at 525 Selby Av. The Jacobses’ restaurant will draw heavily from hearty Lyonnaise tradition, but with an emphasis on Minnesota ingredients from local farms, even in the depths of winter.
“Cooking with the seasons is something that I really enjoy doing,” Bjorn said. “The food will be really focused on French technique, paying respects to classic French cooking. Nothing overly complicated, just allowing the quality of the ingredients to shine.”
Bjorn and Megan met a decade ago while working in restaurants in the Twin Cities. At one point, they overlapped at Gavin Kaysen’s restaurant group, Soigné Hospitality; Bjorn cooked at Bellecour in Wayzata, while Megan was assistant general manager at Spoon and Stable.
Their careers took them as a couple to Portland, Ore., where they experimented on their own future concept with pop-up dinners. They moved back to St. Paul last year to be closer to family — and to launch their own business. They have a 2-year-old son, Hugo.
“We intentionally wanted to move back to a place that we wanted to open a restaurant in,” Megan said. “We always wanted to be focused here on the community and the larger Minnesota system.”
