Breton chef Hugo Roellinger was consecrated, Monday, November 29, cook of the year 2022 by the second gastronomic guide Gault & Millau for his free and sustainable cuisine “Who smashes the codes”.
The 33-year-old chef, at the head of the two-starred restaurant Le Coquillage (Ille-et-Vilaine), follows in the footsteps of his father Olivier Roellinger with a cuisine turned towards the sea “Which warms up in contact with spices from around the world”. He took over from his parents at Château Richeux, near Cancale, in an old English manor setting where Léon Blum had his entrances, with a breathtaking view of the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel.
“He has cultivated the right attitude for a long time, in his vegetable garden or on the boats of his fishermen”, underlines the yellow guide in a press release. His card “Escapes market research and network pressures. He does not free himself from codes, he pulverizes them, he disperses them like a puzzle, he ventilates ”, adds Gault & Millau.
“It’s a great surprise, a great reward for me, my family, my teams and for all the people who revolve around the restaurant”, welcomes the one who was destined for the merchant navy, and who won his second Michelin star in 2019.
“I try to transcribe with simplicity and sincerity the beauty of a territory on a plate. This kitchen cannot be transported elsewhere », insists the 33-year-old Breton, who also refuses proposals to cook, the time of a dinner, on the other side of the world.
A pantry of seven hectares
The seven hectares of land in the estate constitute for him a veritable pantry: Celtic vegetable garden where 70 varieties of aromatic plants grow, between raised stones, a conservatory of apple trees with 26 endemic varieties, algae cellar, all facing a sea. Azure blue.
The pastry chef of the year 2022 is Maxime Frédéric, who works alongside the three-star chef Arnaud Donckele in his new restaurant at the Samaritaine in Paris after having passed through another Parisian palace, George-V. The young Normand, who likes to go and recharge his batteries every week on the family farm, is responsible for all the pastry making at the Cheval Blanc Paris hotel, but also for bread and pastries.
Magali Picherie, from the Mirazur restaurant in Menton, on the Côte d’Azur, best restaurant in the world 2019 according to the British 50 Best ranking, is the sommelier of the year. The one who works alongside the three-star chef Mauro Colagreco “Knows all the vineyards of France, but also of the world” and a “A refreshing vision that reconciles lovers of large bottles as well as modern and natural cuvées”.