Frédéric SANDRINI

Chef : 1 restaurant

Presentation

Frédéric Sandrini was not predestined to become a chef. "To be honest, I got into the kitchen by chance."A poor student, the teenager opted for an apprenticeship and began a sandwich course in a pizzeria: " I tried cooking without conviction, but I was hooked. "He continued the adventure in several restaurants in his native Lorraine, before taking over the Meligner brasserie, where he had worked with his wife since 1992, aged just 28.

A talented self-taught man, Frédéric Sandrini has no master:"I don't deny the people who trained me, but I read a lot. My path to gastronomy was a gradual one."

For the record, the Meligner brewery was founded in 1910 opposite the Hagondange train station - a godsend! This small town, located in the heart of the steel industry stronghold between Thionville and Metz, used to welcome workers from the region who took the streetcar to get to their place of work. At first, they came to quench their thirst, then to have lunch. In its heyday, the Meligner served 140 covers every lunchtime. Another era. The business declined over time, even under the management of the Sandrini couple.

A blessing in disguise! In 2008, tired of the brasserie, the chef turned the page. Together with his partner, he wrote a new chapter, which they named Quai des Saveurs. "I had in mind to create a gastronomic restaurant on a human scale, with a cuisine based on the market and instinct, but as a business owner, if you don't evolve, you go backwards."In 2014, he bought the walls and redid everything from top to bottom, to get this former station buffet back on track for good.

B. G.