With his restaurant open for 5 months, this chef has already won a Gault&Millau award

Just a stone's throw from the Opéra, Shanael opened its doors last December. In just a few months, this confidential restaurant has established itself as one of the region's most promising addresses. the result is a major distinction: the title of Grand de Demain, awarded at the Gault&Millau Tour Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, held at theHôtel Le Negresco.

An intimate table where customers feel at home

Before opening his own restaurant, Anthony Denon trained with such gastronomic greats asAlain Ducasse, Jean-François Piège and Christophe Saintagne. From the kitchens of the Meurice to the Louis XV, the chef now puts his demanding technique at the service of an intimate, plant-based cuisine in his first restaurant, which opened a few months ago. By taking over the former Au Sourd institution, located in the heart of Toulon, the chef has reappropriated the premises to make them feel almost like home: " The idea was really to make the customer feel at ease [....] and to remove some of the bad codes of stuffy restaurants", he confides. At Shanael, the chef claims " a dining room, a relaxed luxury ", where gastronomy gets closer to the customer without giving in to demands.

Nothing thrown away, everything transformed

Drawing on his past experiences, this son of a chef of Guadeloupean origin is developing a vegetal cuisine, focused on nature, local produce and the seasons: it ' s in my DNA," he says, "I've worked my whole career with Alain Ducasse, where they teach you not to throw anything away, but to transform everything. It's a philosophy he extends to his restaurant, where every ingredient is valued. Author of the book Il en reste! he advocates a responsible and creative approach. " The aim today [...] is to make cooking plant-based, without it being completely plant-based ," he explains, offering an experience where vegetables and proteins interact with balance.

Rapid success and a shared reward

Five months after opening, the restaurant is already a success. " The results are impressive," says the chef, praising the loyal clientele and the warm welcome he has received from the Toulon population. Having arrived in the city with no ties, he now refers to "extraordinary producers" and a destination " in the process of being reborn ".

As for the title of Grand de Demain, it's a reward he also owes to his family: " I'm very proud, because it's first and foremost a personal victory, but also a family one, because I was helped by my family, who did everything they could to help me succeed in this business. Today, I think it's a recognition of a job well done, and a reward for my children, who don't see me much, and my wife, who has made a lot of sacrifices. So I'm very proud to receive it on a personal level, but above all it's the victory of a family ". Behind this success, he evokes the sacrifices made by those close to him, and concludes with lucidity: " We've achieved some pretty exceptional things together in just a few months ". This early recognition confirms the emergence of a chef to watch closely.