Fabien Raux, Grand of Demain 2026, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region

pouilly-sous-Charlieu, on the banks of the Loire, is home to Restaurant de la Loire. This seasonal, sustainable restaurant won chef Fabien Raux the Grand de Demain 2026 trophy at the Gault&Millau Tour Auvergne-Rhône Alpes, held at theInterContinental Lyon - Hôtel Dieu.

The passion and rigor of a committed chef

Before opening his restaurant in the small village of Roanne (population 2,000), the Pas-de-Calais-born chef honed his skills and techniques with some of the great names in gastronomy. After training at the Lycée Hôtelier in Le Touquet, the young Fabien Raux trained alongside Jean-Marc Mompach, before reinforcing his experience with François Adamski at the Abbaye de Saint-Ambroix. He then moved on to the kitchens of Le Meurice, working alongside Yannick Alléno. He then moved on to Casablanca, where he worked in the kitchens of the Hyatt Regency, before joining Christophe Duffosé at JinYue. Finally, he stopped off at Strasbourg restaurant 1741.

This rewarding and demanding career led him to open his own restaurant in 2021 with his wife. Located at the foot of the Seine-et-Loire, this project was born of a desire to get away from the city center. " When we set up shop, we were looking for a rural project to get more oxygen, more green," explains the chef. Drawing on his past experience, Fabien Raux has developed a bold and responsible cuisine, in which local produce from Roanne and respect for the seasons are central. It's a state of mind that guides the chef's cooking, and he grows a large proportion of his own vegetables: " We have a vegetable garden of one and a half hectares, where we produce almost all the vegetables we use ". For him, it was " a life project, which made more sense" in termsof the philosophy he wanted to pass on to his customers.

Authentic seasonal cuisine

There is no à la carte menu in the 25-seat restaurant: "We don't tell you much about the details of our menus in advance, because we work with nature," explains the chef. Lunchtime is based around a 3-step menu, while evening menus range from 5 to 7 steps. In keeping with his ethical approach, the chef relies on " a cuisine based on seasonal produce, but also harvesting and hunting [...] as well as many small producers". How does he put it? " We've created a whole ecosystem around the restaurant. It's a project that makes sense in its entirety.Often, customers tell us that the piece of meat or fish seemed to be the garnish of the work done on the vegetable ".

The Grand de Demain title: a rewarding distinction

For the chef and his young brigade, this title is " a very nice surprise!". "It's very rewarding, especially as the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region is vast. There are some very fine restaurants and some very dynamic young chefs [...] so we're very proud. " This award, although personal, is also the fruit of teamwork, as Fabien Raux explains: " I was awarded the Grand de Demain, but there's also a team behind it who support me on a daily basis ". " We try to emphasize our ethical and sustainable approach, and that's why we're so pleased that Gault&Millau has taken notice and listened to our message ," says the 3-toque chef.