Gaëtan GENTIL

Presentation

Winner of the first Gault&Millau Young Talent Award, along with Alexandre Mazzia, future Chef of the Year, Gaëtan Gentil revealed his talent at the helm of Agapé Substance in Paris.revealed himself at the helm of Agapé Substance in Paris, the now defunct lab where David Toutain and Bertrand Grébaut cut their teeth.

When it came time to choose a location for his first restaurant at the end of 2014, the then 30-year-old quickly ruled out his hometown of Le Mans,"not dynamic enough" in his opinion, but also Paris,"a city in which I've never really felt comfortable", he admits.

In Lyon, the Eskis restaurant is for sale, in the Confluence district. The former student of Denis Fétisson (La Place de Mougins) and Jean-François Piège (Crillon period) didn't hesitate for long, especially as his partner is herself from the Lyon region.

"We opened in May 2015," recalls Gaëtan Gentil. The Gault&Millau Endowment helped us a great deal to open Prairial, a brand that pays tribute to plants, herbs, vegetables and other fruits, which play an important part in my cooking."Gault&Millau continues to follow him closely, awarding him 2 toques in his first year (the 3rd is due in 2020), as well as the Espoir Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes trophy.

2023 saw the couple relocate in the autumn. "We transferred Prairial to a larger, more comfortable location, without increasing our number of covers. We stayed in the Confluence district. It's a project that has excited us and given us confidence in the future."