Antoine GRAS
Chef : 2 restaurants
" I didn't grow up baking and thinking 'I'm going to be a chef'," admits Antoine Gras. He didn't have the vocation, but he quickly acquired a taste for it. It was with Xavier Beaudiment, at Le Pré in Clermont-Ferrand, that he first discovered this new world. " I was 15 when I walked into his kitchen. I loved the rigor, the quality of the dishes. "He continued his training with Jacques and Régis Marcon, in Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid (Haute-Loire), then with Jean-Michel Lorain, in Joigny (Burgundy).
After working for a time in an Auvergne bistro, Antoine Gras arrived at Les Barmes de l'Ours, in Val-d'Isère, as a commis. " That was the only CV I sent in. I knew that's where I wanted to work. "In the summer, he worked alongside Arnaud Donckele at La Vague d'Or in Saint-Tropez. Then, in 2015, he spent a season at La Bouitte, with René and Maxime Meilleur, in Saint-Martin-de-Belleville (Savoie). " With Arnaud Donckele, I learned sensitivity and commitment, and with Meilleur, I learned to understand his region," he explains.
In 2016, he was called back to Les Barmes to be Alain Lamaison's sous-chef. The following year, he was promoted to chef, aged just 23. " I took it as a challenge and a great opportunity! "Gault&Millau rewarded his work with 3 toques.
I. B.
