Emmanuel KOURI

Chef : 1 restaurant From Pierre Gagnaire to Yannick Alléno, Emmanuel Kouri has risen through the ranks to open Kerstéphanie in Brittany. This young chef, already awarded 3 Gault&Millau toques, offers refined, authentic seafood cuisine.

Presentation

Why Brittany, when you were born in Périgord with a certain South-Western culture, and have rubbed shoulders with some of the big names - Pierre Gagnaire the Forézien in London, Yannick Alléno the Parisian at Le Meurice and Éric Frechon the Normand at Le Bristol for decades of supreme toques? Emmanuel Kouri's answer is straightforward. "I've always been attracted to the sea, and from a very young age I used to go there on vacation and go sailing.And then I worked with Thibault Sombardier - who has remained a close friend - at Antoine's, where we did nothing but fish. "

A culinary adventure by the ocean

His first position as chef was at Les Climats in Paris, a fine restaurant dedicated to Burgundy, where he stayed for four years, winning 2 toques. But his plans to move closer to the ocean were already taking shape. " Sarzeau and Kerstéphanie is the ideal place, close to the sea and at the same time in the country, the ocean and the land..." He quickly forged links with suppliers and fishermen. "Some of them said no to me at first, because of delivery difficulties, only to say yes after a few months." Because, it has to be said, the start-up since December has been frankly successful, and there's a lot of talk about this long-established inn. "We've rebuilt the place, and it's a new story, but I've kept the name Kerstéphanie, which is well known in the area. "

His first Gault&Millau rating is 15/20 and 3 toques, a rarity in the profession, which is often only awarded to future greats...