Christian MORISSET

Chef : 1 restaurant After leading the kitchens of the legendary Juana for almost twenty years, chef Christian Morisset has mastered his art at the Figuier de Saint-Esprit in Antibes.

Presentation

"At the age of 5, I told my parents I was going to be a pastry chef, I'm not sure why, as there were no restaurateurs in my family", says Christian Morisset, who at the age of 14 set off to apprentice in a boutique pastry shop. He went on to take a CAP in pastry-making and a CAP in cookery, before joining a pastry shop in Lizant (Vienne) in 1973. "I worked indefinablehours , up to 36 consecutive hours at weekends!

In 1976, the young pastry chef began working in a store at E. Leclerc in Poitiers. "I had time, I could see my friends and play soccer. But after a year, I wondered what my future was." He then decided to join the Hôtel Jules César, in Arles, then Le Mas d'Artigny, in Saint-Paul-de-Vence. Once a pastry chef, it was agreed that he would move on to the kitchen. Fourteen months later, he became a commis.

In 1979, Christian Morisset joined the prestigious Chèvre d'Or in Èze, working alongside Élie Mazot as a commis de cuisine or replacing the pastry chef on his days off. After nine months, a friend introduced him to Jo Rostang at La Bonne Auberge in Antibes. The following year, he obtained a position with Alain Ducasse at the Hôtel Juana in Antibes. "The conditions were very difficult, because the kitchen was in the basement, with a charcoal stove. It was 60 degrees."

Alain Ducasse then sent him to Roger Vergé, where he stayed for four and a half years, progressing from chef de partie to sous-chef at the Moulin de Mougins. During this period, he was even chef at the Altiport Hôtel in Méribel. "We set400 covers at every lunch!"

The experience appealed to him, so he began looking for a position as head chef. He joined the Château d'Esclimont for two years. In 1987, he took over from Alain Ducasse as head chef at the Hotel Juana restaurant, soon to be renamed La Terrasse Christian Morisset. He stayed for eighteen years, until the hotel was abruptly put up for sale by the Ferrante Group. "I told myself one thing: I'd never work for a boss again", and so, since 2007, Christian Morisset has been the happy head chef at the gastronomic restaurant Le Figuier de Saint-Esprit, in Antibes.

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