Ismaël Adam DRISSI-BAKHKHAT

Chef : 1 restaurant

Presentation

Ismaël Adam Drissi-Bakhkhat is one of those people who knows how to do everything. After graduating from Sciences-Po, he worked as a teacher-researcher in philosophy of language in London, while at the same time becoming an oyster farmer in Maldon (Essex). Today, with his wife Douchka, he is a fishmonger-restaurateur in Lyon. What a career!

With his parents - his mother is an embassy attaché, his father an architect - he's been all over the world, or almost. So, where does his passion for cooking come from? "My father designed and managed bakeries, restaurants and a Fauchon grocery store in Cannes... I've always been immersed in the world of gastronomy. What's more, at home, we ate well! "he recalls.

While attending boarding school in Lyon, the young man did odd jobs at the Halles de Lyon, working for fish scalers. In England, to support himself, he became a seafood trader. "It was then that I met an oyster farmer who taught me traditional methods. I learned the trade and sold oysters to many gourmet restaurants in Europe. Then I started buying and selling fish, which I learned to smoke."He also started selling wine and professional equipment online, and met his wife.

The couple decided to return to France, settled in Lyon and launched Noé Atelier de la Mer. "We started with the workshop, where we make canned fish and fish-based delicatessen products. The restaurant came later."Completely self-taught, Ismaël Adam Drissi-Bakhkhat came to cooking through management and learned from the chefs he worked with. "I started writing recipes and, during Covid, I got behind the stove."An initiative rewarded by Gault&Millau, which awarded him 1 toque and the Cuisine de la Mer, des Lacs et des Rivières Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2023 trophy.

F.H.