Henri ABBATUCCI

Chef : 1 restaurant

Presentation

"At the age of 6, I had two dreams: to be a pilot in the army and a cook. I fulfilled them both. "After fifteen years in the skies above Verdun (Meuse) and Pau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), as a combat helicopter pilot in the army and in the special forces, Henri Abbatucci.Henri Abbatucci returned to the Isle of Beauty, where he flew for two years, this time as a civilian, in the vicinity of Porto-Vecchio.

In 2007, he decided to change direction and join his brothers. The eldest, Jacques, breeds calves and tiger cows, and the youngest, Jean-Charles, is a winemaker, devoting himself to Corsican grape varieties. "So, in 2011, in Casalabriva (Corsica), Henri Abbatucci bought a campsite and restaurant nestled in the scrubland, which he renamed Le Frère. Dressed in his apron, he stepped behind the stove, working as a perfect self-taught chef. The chef honed his technique over time with the help of invaluable collaborators.

His obsession: precision. "This comes from my many years as a pilot. In the beginning, I put a lot of emphasis on offal. My brothers and my wife didn't really believe in it. In the end, it worked. I revisit traditional Corsican dishes in my own sauce, and lighten up those from the mountains." Thanks to his boldness and determination, the chef was awarded 2 toques in 2013. He still has them today!

B.G.