Edgar BOSQUEZ

Presentation

There's one word that keeps coming back to Edgar Bosquez: "perseverance". Born in Panama in 1987 into a family of industrial bakers, Ékume's chef left his country at the age of 17, after graduating from high school, with his cousin, whose plan was to go to France to learn the language and cooking.

The two young men settled in Montpellier for a few months, then joined the Institut Paul Bocuse. "My plan was to follow the hotel management course, but my French wasn't good enough at the time, so I was turned down. So I opted for the culinary bachelor's degree while doing some internships. In 2010, I joined Paul Bocuse as demi-chef de partie, an unforgettable experience.

Edgar has an unquenchable thirst for learning. Every morning, he's the first one at the restaurant, sometimes even arriving before Monsieur Paul, who takes him under his wing. The work is exhausting, but the young Panamanian thrives in this legendary establishment. "At the Institut, I met Alizée, who was to become my wife and the mother of my children. She wanted a change of atmosphere, so we moved to Panama, where I worked - with Alizée in pastry - in the restaurant of a French expatriate. But I soon missed France, its culture and its products."

Back to France for the young couple, at Château Talluy, near Lyon, where Jospeh Viola was then consulting chef. Two years later, Edgar and Alizée decided to discover Parisian life in a way other than as tourists. "I joined Alain Senderens' kitchens in 2013," recalls Edgar. I stayed there for five years, until the Julien Dumas period, before becoming Thibault Sombardier's second at Antoine's, until the Covid epidemic."

This forced break accelerated the couple's plans to settle down. They looked in the South, and it was Gérald Passedat who hired Edgar at Petit Nice, in Marseille. "It was a great experience, always working in a great house. At the same time, Alizée and I were looking for our future business in a town we knew very little about.

The two young parents finally found the rare gem, on the corner of Rue Sainte and Rue Robert, and opened their restaurant in June 2022. "The Saint-Victor district, just above the Vieux Port, suits us perfectly. Marseille is a city we love, for its atmosphere and energy. And for me, it reminds me a little of Panama."

F. T.