Gautier ALVAREZ

Chef : 1 restaurant

Presentation

"It was my mother who pushed me into the kitchen, and she did well." With little motivation for his studies, Gautier Alvarez enrolled at the Lourdes hotel school, where he obtained his BEP. He continued his studies in Tarbes, where he prepared for his professional baccalaureate (and met his friend and future partner Jonathan Vallenari). From his first internships in 2011, the young apprentice was hooked, and took on some of the region's finest names: Chez Ruffet, in Jurançon (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), then Hôtel Parc-Beaumont, in Pau.

Then it was on to London, as Gautier Alvarez was keen to discover other cuisines. After six months in France, he moved to L'Auberge Basque, Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), where chef Cédric Béchade integrated him into his brigade as chef de partie. Over the years, Gautier has built up an excellent reputation in the region. In 2016, Guillaume Roget asked him to assist him at Brouillarta in Saint-Jean-de-Luz. The following year, he took up his first chef's position at Mas des Arômes, in Idron, near Pau. "Customers were starting to get to know me. It was then time for me to strike out on my own and create an establishment in my own image, where I could blossom completely."

He spotted Chez Canaille, at the foot of Pau Castle, in the Hédas district, which for a while had been shunned by the locals. With his partner Jonathan Vallenari and the help of the Dotation Jeunes Talents, Gautier Alvarez bought it in 2019 and gave it the name Maynats ("kid", in Béarnais). "We redid everything. I wanted a clean, raw, industrial-style decor, in harmony with the gastronomy I offer." Using mainly local produce, the chef revisits Béarn classics such as poule au pot and garbure. "I set myself challenges. I like to combine products that don't normally go together". Gault&Millau proclaimed him Jeune Talent Nouvelle-Aquitaine 2019 and awarded him 3 toques in 2022. In 2023, Gautier Alvarez bought the adjoining restaurant and transformed it into a wine bar: La Ruse.

B. G.