Christophe MARCHAIS

Chef : 1 restaurant

Presentation

"When I was 4 years old, I made up my mind that I wanted to wear a chef's hat, so I was going to be a chef," says Christophe Marchais. To achieve this, he enrolled at the Lycée hôtelier Châteauneuf in Argenton-sur-Creuse, where he obtained his CAP, BEP and bac professionnel. Once released from his military obligations, the young clerk sharpened his first knives at the Hôtel Antares in Saint-Jean-de-Braye (Loiret). Two years later, in 1997, he followed Cécile, his future partner and associate, to Paris, where he rubbed shoulders with the greatest: Éric Corailler at Bistrot de Paris, Bernard Loiseau at Tante Jeanne, Philippe Faure-Brac at Bistrot du Sommelier and Pierre Gagnaire at Gaya.

In 2005, thanks to all these encounters, he opened Bistrot Miss Betsy as chef. The following year, wishing to retire to the countryside, Christophe Marchais opened his very first establishment, Terre de Brenne, in Azay-le-Ferron (Indre). "It was a communal restaurant, but with a certain audacity. I offered a fusion cuisine, very much focused on Japan. During my years in Paris, I had worked at Shozan, so I had a good grounding."

Christophe Marchais wanted to improve his restaurant, but the town hall disagreed. So he moved to Châteauroux. There he founded Jeux 2 Goûts. At first, the chef focused on Japanese cuisine, but as time went by, he simplified and returned to the basics of French gastronomy, adding Asian, Italian and Spanish touches. In 2017, the master restaurateur became a member of the Collège culinaire de France, in order to promote short-distance cooking.

B. G.