From ephemeral to sustainable: the rise of these chefs to their own restaurant

Gastronomy is constantly evolving. Yesterday's traditions persist, but new trends are emerging. Young chefs don't always follow the classic brigade route. By choice or by opportunity, they travel, taking up temporary residencies to explore other cultures and products, enriching their cuisine and their experience.

Like Alice Arnoux, the itinerant chef who worked at Le Perchoir Ménilmontant, has now settled down. Café de l'Usine, her first restaurant, a showcase located at 5 Passage Piver in the 11ᵉ arrondissement of the capital has just opened its doors this October 2, 2024. The concept? No concept, just an address open from noon to midnight, Wednesday to Saturday. The curious can discover a "soft fare" lunch, a snack or a slightly more elaborate menu at dinner. Here's a look at three chefs who opened their own restaurants after a series of short-lived experiments.

Mohamed Cheikh, Meïda in Saint-Ouen

After honing his skills in some of Paris's top establishments, Mohamed Cheikh came to prominence when he won season 12 of Top Chef. Opportunities soon arose, and he set about opening his first short-lived restaurant, Manzili. It was a real hit: "We did 45,000 covers in four months, it was crazy, and I even think that a lot of people didn't manage to come, because people still talk to me about it today", confides the chef. The restaurant was built around a desire to welcome people "as if they were at home" and a Mediterranean culinary philosophy. These two elements are still with him today, and are surely the chef's trademark. Following in Manzili's footsteps, he ventured to Jérôme Banctel's La Réserve in Paris for two months. A return to his "first chef", he explains. He also worked as a chef on a barge: "We served 300 covers every Friday and Saturday night. He ended his temporary stint in Saint-Tropez at Bivouak, a mix between restaurant and beach club. The native of Paris was able to test himself and discover different worlds throughout his residencies. "It was very enriching to be able to try out different things. We went from a friendly garden kitchen at Manzili to a palace kitchen, then to working on a boat and finally with holidaymakers in the South," he enthuses.

After three years sailing between short-lived residences and other services, "always in the kitchen", he decided to pack his bags. A decision in which he was supported by his partner Olivier Bertrand and helped by another culinary media personality. "Cyril Lignac gave me a lot of advice on the need to build something lasting, solid and durable". Today, Mohamed Cheikh is based at Meïda, in Saint-Ouen, an "emerging" city where it's easier "to create a bond with customers" for the native of Seine-Saint-Denis."It's a mix of beautiful cuisine, a beautiful place, warm and familial and above all accessible."

Manon Fleury, Datil in Paris

The young Burgundian chef was quickly attracted by the idea of opening her own restaurant. Unfortunately, the former French junior sabre champion wasn't able to settle in as quickly as she'd hoped. After leaving Le Mermoz in January 2020, I had the ambition and desire to open a restaurant. But between the Covid period and the difficulties of finding premises, I decided to look for something that would allow me to move forward. I wanted to have a team, a project and progress in the kitchen", explains the chef.

Manon Fleury signed up for six months at the Elsa restaurant in Monaco: "It's a very different proposition from the experiences I've had. A luxury hotel has different expectations from the smaller restaurants I've worked in. There she met Laurène Barjhoux, her sidekick during her years on the road and now at Datil (2 toques). She followed this up with a second residency at Le Perchoir in Paris. "I had a lot more freedom than in Monaco. I was able to do my own cooking and, above all, offer a fully-fledged restaurant concept. From the choice of crockery to the decoration and suppliers, it was really a great exercise in opening a restaurant", confides the Burgundian.

On the strength of these and other experiences, Manon Fleury took the plunge and found her own premises. "What's really interesting about opening Datil, apart from the pressure of owning it, is the fact that all these residencies allowed me to take it easy for the opening. From recruiting the team to proposing the menu."

Céline Pham, Inari in Arles

Sometimes, a career can take off in the blink of an eye. This is probably true of chef Céline Pham. For several years, she worked in gourmet restaurants before a small text from a journalist about one of her recipes - "a spring roll", she details - caught someone's attention. That person was none other than Christian Louboutin. This was her first taste of the world of private performance. Then came her "first experience as a resident chef. It was in 2015, at La Table Ronde in Paris. One thing led to another, and as I met new people, I moved left and right in France and abroad for different projects". She adds: "It's a format I really enjoy. The most galvanizing thing is arriving in an unfamiliar place, meeting people whose lives are drastically different, but understanding each other through the language of food". The chef travels to Brazil and Mexico, where she "met cooks who had to drive an hour each way to get to work. Sharing and exchanging with them was a unique experience, one that went straight to my heart. I'm in this business to continue to experience similar things."

In 2021, in the aftermath of the covid epidemic, enriched with knowledge about "products that have nothing to do with those we know from where they grow", she settled down. She headed for Arles, a town where the seasons set the pace. This allows the chef to work on "different things every week" and, above all, to combine "the two models, between my restaurant and other residences. It's great and very complementary." "I think I'll be doing this for a long time to come!" she concludes.