Denis GROISON

Chef : 1 restaurant

Presentation

Born into a family of pastry chefs, Denis Groison has always loved to get hishands dirty. However, he decided tostudy biochemistry. At the same time, to earn a little money, he worked ina restaurant, which brought back memories ofhis childhood spent in his grandparents' tea room in Montceau-les-Mines (Saône-et-Loire). On the university benches, the young man realized he was on the wrong track. He decided to stop everything and devote himself to his passion. He enrolled at the Ferrandi school, and prepared his CAP under a sandwich course at Flora Mikula, in Les Olivades, Paris.

In 2005, with his diploma in hand, Denis Groison joined Pierre Lecoutre's team at the Dôme du Marais, then continued at Guy Lassausaie's table in Chasselay (Rhône). " Ilearned rigor and dressage, but my mentor remained Pierre Lecoutre. We still rub shoulders today.In 2007, he returned to the Dôme du Marais as chef. "At the same time, he met Lan, his future wife and business partner.

In 2009, thirsty for escape, Denis Groison flew with his partner toSingapore. There, he took charge of the kitchens at the prestigious 5-star Raffles. In 2010, he moved tohis partner's native Vietnam. This time in Hanoi, he took the helm at Métropole, before being appointed the establishment's executive sous chef in 2014. "I worked in French-style restaurants, but I was always interested in local gastronomy. Traces of that remain in my dishestoday."

"We were fine in Asia, but Paris seemed much more dynamic at the time. We figured that, if we were ever going back, now was the time. We had to jump on the bandwagon." In 2013, the couple opened Les Gastropodes, a neobistro tucked away inside the Dauphine market at the Saint-Ouen flea market." Theaim was to show the banks that we were capable of running an establishment, and thus inspire their confidence."

Not far from the Dôme du Marais, Denis Groison spotted an establishment and founded Le Mazenay, "in homage to a small village in Burgundy from which part of my family originates". A bistro quickly awarded 2 toques by Gault&Millau. In 2021, just a stone's throw away, the couple bought Les Épiciers, a booming little grocery-cave à manger, to further enhance the value of the product.

B. G.