Benjamin TOURSEL

Chef : 1 restaurant

Presentation

"Without the support of my wife Agathe, my cooking wouldn't have the same flavor."Benjamin Toursel met his future wife on the benches of the Lycée Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc in Aulnoye-Aymeries, in the Nord region of France. With their BTS diploma in hand, they went to Winchester, England, to train at Lainston House. "At the time, the French were highly sought-after there. It was a godsend for us. I went in as a commis de cuisine and came out as second."

Back in France, the Toursels took over a small restaurant nestled at the foot of the slopes in Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise, a small resort in Savoie. "There were three chairlifts and a drag lift. I tried to offer refined cuisine, but 25 years ago in the mountains, people were more interested in eating fondue or tartiflette."In 2002, Benjamin Toursel returned to the plains and took up a position as second chef at Michel Trama's L'Aubergade near Agen.

"My wife and I had said to ourselves that we would set up our own business at the age of 30."The couple spotted a characterful half-timbered house in Moirax, a small village in the Lot-et-Garonne region, with its listed church. The town council, which saw this as a good way of revitalizing the village, helped them by offering them a low rent. "When we took over this house, it looked like a saloon."

In 2004, after a few months' renovation work, the Auberge du Prieuré opened its doors with great success:"The people of the village played along. We were fully booked for lunch and dinner."By dint of hard work, the restaurant has never been empty, retaining the 3 toques it won in 2012.

B. G.