Benjamin BAJEUX

Chef : 2 restaurants

Presentation

"I grew up at La Baratte, the restaurant my parents ran in Tourcoing. Naturally, I wanted to follow in their footsteps", says Benjamin Bajeux, who entered the Illkirch-Graffenstaden hotel school (Alsace). With his BEP and CAP in hand, the apprentice flew to England. His first job was at the Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Oxford, but the globetrotter dreamed of getting away from it all. He left for Saint-Barthélemy, where he worked at Le Toiny restaurant. In 2000, he returned to France through the front door: Michel Del Burgo opened the Taillevent restaurant in Paris to him.

In 2001, Benjamin Bajeux had a decisive encounter. Alain Ducasse invited him to join his legendary brigade at the Louis XV in Monaco, before serving him the American dream on a platter: to take part in the openings of the Essex House and the Mix, in New York.

Eager to discover new culinary horizons and rub shoulders with other chefs, Benjamin Bajeux returned to France in 2004. After a stint with Marc Meurin in Pas-de-Calais, he took up his first chef's position at La Table de Didier Beckaert, located on the first floor of the Colysée museum of modern art in Lambersart (Nord), in 2004. "My parents owned the place. At the age of 26, I thought it was my turn." In 2006, he bought the establishment and christened it simply Le Colysée. That same year, the Guide Jaune praised his initiative, awarding him the Jeune Talent prize and 2 toques.

"I wanted to own the business and the premises. Here, that wasn't possible. I sold the business in 2013 to develop myself fully at Le Balsamique, which I opened in Wambrechies." In this thatched cottage-style building near Lille, the chef offers "local specialties that have been brought up to date and, above all, are affordable". Gault&Millau awarded him 2 toques and a new Jeune Talent trophy.

In 2022, while retaining Le Balsamique, Benjamin Bajeux took over the reins of the family business, La Baratte. I learned everything there," he says, "I couldn't let it go to waste, it had to stay in the family. Today, he's starting to breathe new life into the business by creating the "Les Maisons Bajeux" entity.

B. G.