The Gault&Millau Young Talent Donation rewards the bold who set out to create a restaurant. Gault&Millau tracks down those who have the potential and the audacity to undertake. or the third stage of the year 2022, the Yellow Guide was at Maison&Objet in Paris Nord Villepinte on Monday 12 September.
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The godfather and godmother
Tiphaine Mollard and Romain Casas (Deux, in Paris), recipients of the Young Talent Donation in 2021 and in the selection for the 2023 edition of the book “109”.
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Félix Robert, Arborescence, in Croix
At just 31 years, this native of Lille, trained at the hotel school of Le Touquet, has all the makings of a future great. Endorsed by Alexandre Gauthier, with whom he worked for six years at La Grenouillère (he ended up as sous-chef), and by the Troisgros family (he spent two years at Le Bois Sans Feuille), this discreet young man embarked on the adventure with his partner, Nidta, whom he met in Alexandre Gauthier’s kitchen. Passionate about wine and eager to learn everything – she didn’t speak a word of French when she left Thailand at the age of 18 – Nidta is obviously 100% committed to the project.
The couple set their sights on a former industrial wasteland, formerly occupied by a textile factory. Their restaurant, which opened at the end of May, is a unique place with a daring architecture, which fits perfectly with the couple’s cuisine, open to the world.
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Lucas Tricot, Suzanne, in Lille
At 18, he was a clerk at the Petit Barbue d’Anvers in Lille. Elisa Rodriguez, his partner, obtained a Master’s degree in Quality and Risk Management after a BTS in dietetics. For the past few months, the young couple has been running their first establishment, Suzanne (a name that pays tribute to Elisa’s grandmother, who recently passed away), on the Place Philippe-Lebon in Lille. Lucas Tricot and his partner, now a pastry chef, offer bistro-inspired cuisine.
“This restaurant is a real couple project“, explains Elisa Rodriguez. The menu is short, the products are local and in season, and the success was immediate for this pretty table in a setting marked by Nordic influences.
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Pierre Chomet and Cristina Tejeda
Since his (noticed!) appearance in the 2021 edition of “Top Chef”, Pierre Chomet is no longer an unknown to the general public. Appreciated by viewers for his outspokenness and good humour (and for his “tac tac bang bang” gimmick), the young Breton (he was born in Paris, but grew up near Dinan), who holds a degree in table arts and culinary engineering, quickly tried his hand at great cooking.
“As soon as I got my degree, I joined the kitchens of 114 Faubourg as a commis, where I learned the basics of French cuisine,he says.. I held all the positions there and, after a year, I was lucky enough to join Eric Frechon’s team at the Bristol. My dream came true.” The apprentice cook will then spend a year with Arnaud Donckele – “one of the most passionate chefs I’ve ever met” – before crossing the Channel to take up the position of chef de partie at the Joël Robuchon Atelier in London. “I love to travel, I then joined Joël Robuchon’s teams in Bangkok from 2014 to 2018, still under Olivier Limousin, then I opened Chef’s Table, still in Bangkok.”
With his partner Cristina Tejeda, a Venezuelan chef whom he met in London at Robuchon’s (the young woman also cooked for Queen Elizabeth II for three years), Pierre Chomet searched for a long time, without success, for a place corresponding to their tastes near Dinan. “We didn’t find the space we were hoping for and finally decided to move to Paris.”
If the precise location (in the 6th arrondissement of Paris) and the opening date are still kept secret, we already know that the restaurant of the young parents – a little boy joined the family a few months ago – will play the casual card and that the cuisine will build bridges between French, Latin and Asian influences.
