“If it has to come, it will come naturally”: neither second star nor disappointment for the Montpellier chefs

Le chef Guillaume Leclère, aux commandes du restaurant qui porte son nom : Leclère, rue André Michel. Midi Libre – ANASTASIA BARBARENKO

This Monday, the Michelin guide announced its 2024 winners. Like Guillaume Leclère, our five Montpellier establishments keep their star. And it’s already a success.

In what state of mind did you go to Paris?

Pretty calm, knowing that there would be no additional reward. I think we didn't have the level so I went up quietly and that's the best way not to be disappointed.

You moved two years ago, you expanded…

Yes, we have enlarged our work surface. That was the objective: better working comfort. We had to move to have a larger surface area, it’s a working tool.

“An extraordinary quest”

Alexandre Caillaud is the chef at Marcelle, the restaurant at the Verchant estate.

&Are you disappointed that you didnét pick upé your first canvas?

It’s always a disappointment but we are a new team. Çit would have beené very good to have him on the first year. We will continue next year like a sportsman. We continue, ahead.

Have you ever done this? felt an evolution compared to your taking office last year ?

It’s undeniable, there’s already happening. a great step forward, the story that we have created, we are more relevant to tastes.

Is the star a goal?

Yes it’s a goal. Staff already. And for the domain too. But it’s great! live. We continue, we are not going to stop there. It’s an extraordinary quest, a daily challenge.

Isn’t this second star a goal?

No. If it has to happen it will come naturally. If one day we have the maturity to do so, we will have the second star. Today, we have a great clientele from Montpellier. We strive to satisfy her. Going for another star also means perhaps going for another, international clientele. You have to know how to do things step by step. And that’s added pressure. The first star, I never worked to get it, it came naturally. Gastronomy is like high-level sport: twice a day we are there, the pressure is there, there are 80 people to satisfy. The customers are important, the real passion is there. The team is mobilized for that.

What do you need to work on to move up even further??

He has a maturity question. Particularly on the plate. I see Cyril (Attrazic, Editor’s note) in Aumont-Aubrac. It has two stars. What he offers is much more accomplished, agreements, more assertive cooking… hellip; And until the end of the meal. It’s very consistent and with stability throughout the year. From start to finish, there’s nothing that denotes, This precision takes time. We are going to work. Once again, if it has to come, it will come naturally.

La Réserve Rimbaud, starred for fifteen years

On the banks of the Lez, in the Aubes district, the landscape is not the only unchanging thing. There is also and above all the star of the Rimbaud Reserve, which is the pride of the Rimbaud Reserve. in the neighborhood for fifteen years.

If he experiences "relief" &agrav; each time the winners fall, Charles Fontès does not fixate on it. "I stayedé &agrav; Montpellier to work because I have a service this Monday.

The chef admitted to us three years ago that he had won a lot of money. 30% of customers with the star, and work to keep it rather than to win a second one.

Today, he is still amazed at how quickly time has passed. "I opened the restaurant eighteen years ago, and that’s also my son’s age!"

The supreme reward came three years later. "Fifteen years à this level is ’ both long and gripping,” he admits.

Especially since the leader does not rest on his laurels. "I change the menu very regularly, I always try to bring the best products back to the kitchen, to renew my suppliers."

A quest for excellence that pushed him to pursue his career. &agrav; transform over time. "I passedé from 6 &agrav; 25 employees. I always try to be present, even if I have two assistants in the kitchen. I also favor participative management."

Pastis reinvents market cuisine

Three years ago, the star had been destroyed. welcomed as a divine surprise at Pastis. In addition to the recognition of a succulent market cuisine, "l’étoile brought me a great deal of experience. stress, and also pushed me to &agrav; éevolve", explains Aveyron native Daniel Lutrand, a former member of Michel Bras. It was there that he met her. Jean-Philippe Vivant, the Montpellier with whom he is associated; for a long time.

Together, they questioned their way of working. "We evolved our kitchen and strengthened our kitchen. our éteam", he explains. While admitting to enjoying meetings with other chefs to "enrich each other"

An asset when you have to face the economic situation. "L’Last year, we felt inflation strongly, which even forced us to increase our income. increase our prices. And over the past few months, we have had more and more difficulty with this. recruit."

But this "reasonable gastronomy" makes a point of honor à remain accessible. "We try to please à everyone. And on the side of Sainte-Anne, çhas lasted eleven years!

Michelin distinctions in and around Montpellier

Éoilés

Five Michelin-starred restaurants in Montpellier appear in the Michelin guide:

– Le Jardin des senses, place de la Canourgue, within the hôtel Richer de Belleval, 04 99 66 18 18.

– The new Leclere, 8 rue André-Michel, 04 67 68 96 85.

– Reflection of Obione, 29 rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 04 99 61 09 17.

– La Ré Rimbaud Reserve, 820 avenue Saint-Maur, 04 67 72 52 53.

– Le Pastis, 3 rue Terral, 04 67 66 37 26.

Bibs Gourmands

Four restaurants in and around Montpellier keep their Bib gourmand:

– L’Artichaut, 15 bis rue Saint-Firmin, 04 67 67 91 86.

– Le Bistro Urbain, 5 rue Alexandre-Cabanel, 06 60 94 96 16.

– Le Temps d’Aime, 2 rue des Consuls, Lattes, 04 99 51 47 39.

– Le Saint-Georges, 4 boulevard Maréchal-Foch, Palavas-les-Flots, 04 67 68 31 38.< /p> I subscribe to read more