Erwan HOUSSIN

Chef : 1 restaurant

Presentation

After four years studying forestry, Erwan Houssin realized he'd taken the wrong path. Chef Jean-Marc Bonano, owner of the Auberge de Combes, suggested he try his hand at cooking. A revelation. A few years later, with his BEP in his pocket, he made his debut at La Barbacane, the renowned restaurant of the Hôtel de la Cité in Carcassonne, alongside Franck Putelat.

It was there that Erwan Houssin met his future wife, Pamela, a pastry chef. In 2006, they followed Franck Putelat in opening Hôtel Le Parc, also in Carcassonne.

After a year's experience in Paris at Le Meurice, during the Yannick Alléno era, he returned to the sun at Villa Belrose, in Saint-Tropez, before taking a step up to the Chabichou, in Courchevel, alongside Stéphane Buron, then Michel Rochedy.

In 2009, Erwan, 24, and Pamela Houssin set up their own business, opening Le Diapason in Avignon. "Thefirst week, we had zero covers for ten days, lunch and dinner. It felt strange. We were in a very bad location."Despite this, the critics - such as Gault&Millau, who awarded them 2 toques - supported them.

Breton by blood, but Occitan by birth and heart, Erwan Houssin wanted to return to his homeland. An opportunity arose in Leucate, not far from Perpignan. After a quick negotiation with the town hall, the couple opened their second restaurant in 2016, Le Grand Cap. The restaurant offers a 180° panoramic view of the sea, so the chef proposes"a clear cuisine in phase with our environment. I like to mix land and sea. When I work with meat, I like to give it a marine flavour. To a fillet of beef from the Pyrenees, I add anchovies from Collioure."This time, the success was immediate. Gault&Millau named Erwan Houssin Grand de Demain 2017. The 3rd toque arrives in 2019.

B. G.