International
Fanny REY
Chef : 1 restaurant
"Being a chef is the best job in the world."Fanny Rey thrives at L'Auberge de Saint-Rémy, in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, alongside her husband, pastry chef Jonathan Wahid.
As a teenager, she was torn between the Navy and the restaurant business. Enrolled at the hotel school in Gevingey (Jura), Fanny Rey apprenticed at Le Bois Gourmand, Champagnole, alongside Elie Sclafer, while remaining fascinated by the sea: Her father had done his military service in the French Navy, and she intended to follow in his footsteps.
Having completed her studies, she signed up as a volunteer in the armed forces. But she came up against a major obstacle: taking women out to sea was not authorized at the time. Eventually, she took up her first position as a commis de cuisine at Les Fermes de Marie, in Megève, alongside Nicolas Le Bec, with whom she went on to open La Bastide de Marie, in Ménerbes in the Luberon, in 1999. "I fell inlove with the region, its products, its light, its colors, its smells". However, as soon as the army called, she didn't hesitate, and grabbed her rucksack and sneakers to head up to Brest for her training. A second unsuccessful attempt, she was again unable to embark... She was finally offered the choice of Paris or Marseille. Her choice fell on the city of Marseille, where she stayed for six months with the marine fire department: "I was asked to work in the kitchen, preparing the officers' meal". In contact with good produce, she made up her mind: "It would be cooking or nothing.
In 2001, she left for Paris and knocked on the doors of some of the great institutions. Just 20 years old, chef Michel Roth opened the doors of the Ritz to her, where she met her future companion, pastry chef Jonathan Wahid. It was he who, almost ten years later, took the initiative of entering her in season 2 of the TV show "Top Chef": "I loved competitions, but this one seemed too complicated". Nevertheless, she reached the final. "That'swhere I had my best apprenticeship, with the greatest: Jean-François Piège, Ghislaine Arabian, Christian Constant, Thierry Marx and Cyril Lignac."
While Fanny already had the idea in mind of setting up her own restaurant, the show acted as a catalyst. After seven years at L'Oustau de Baumanière (Bouches-du-Rhône) alongside Jonathan's brother, Fanny became owner of L'Auberge de Saint-Rémy. Her husband joined her two years later. A gourmet inn where the chef strives to offer healthy cuisine:"When my son was born in 2003, I realized that feeding people was no trivial matter. I limit salt and animal fats as much as possible." In 2021, Gault&Millau crowned her Grande de Demain and awarded her 3 toques.
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