Arnaud DARBAS

Chef : 1 restaurant Trained in the most prestigious restaurants, Arnaud Darbas won the Jeune Talent Occitanie 2024 trophy just a few months after opening Agapes in Toulouse.

Presentation

Born and raised in Toulouse before returning to open his own restaurant, Arnaud Darbas always had his sights set on making his debut as a chef in the finest Parisian establishments. With his BTS in hand, Arnaud Darbas joined Mathieu Pacaud's kitchen at Hexagone in Paris. When I was a trainee," he explains, " I had already worked alongside Alain Dutournier at Carré des Feuillants, then Frédéric Anton at Pré Catelan. I dreamed of joining Bernard Pacaud at L'Ambroisie, but he wasn't hiring any clerks at the time. I spent a year and a half working alongside his son.

It was then with Jérôme Banctel that the young man discovered the very highest level. "He's a great technician. Seeing him work was a magnificent sight," recalls our future Jeune Talent, who, after a year and a half at La Réserve Paris, joined Arnaud Faye at La Chèvre d'Or.

"It was in Èze that I met my future partner, Virginie Béziaud, who worked in the dining room. After that, we never left each other's side, spending seasons at K2 in Courchevel with Sébastien Vauxion, and at La Vague d'Or with Arnaud Donckele. Then Covid turned our plans upside down a little, and we decided to move to the Toulouse region, to work at L'Auberge de la Forge, in Lavalette, with Théo Fernandez and Claire Cames."

The two young men were to stay for 18 months at this inn, and were also keen to set up their own business. The Bistrot des Sales Gosses in Toulouse was up for sale and, after some renovation work in the summer of 2023, they opened Agapes in mid-August. "We stop at 25 covers. There are only two of us in the kitchen, so our days are very full. We've already got a small core of regulars who appreciate our small, regularly renewed menu. " A fresh, sincere, lively cuisine, to be discovered as a matter of urgency in the heart of the Saint-Aubin district.