International
Jacques et Laurent POURCEL
Chef : 3 restaurants
There are very few chefs to have won 4 toques in two different establishments. There was Pierre Gagnaire, in Saint-Étienne then Paris, Michel Guérard, in Paris then Eugénie-les-Bains, Jacques Chibois, in Cannes then Grasse, and then Jacques and Laurent Pourcel.
These sons of winegrowers were clearly more interested in Raymond Oliver's TV appearances than in learning the perfect tense of the subjunctive, and quickly turned to the restaurant business. Trama, Gagnaire, Meneau, Bras, Chapel... their training path was prestigious and separate, the twins meeting again in the late 1980s to open the Jardin des Sens, a little way from downtown Montpellier.
There, they collected a string of honors, even being crowned Cooks of the Year in our 1998 issue, when they were not yet 35. They also opened internationally, in Tokyo, Sri Lanka... The last years of Le Jardin des Sens were sometimes more difficult, until they closed in March 2016... and were reborn in 2021, in the magnificent Hôtel Richer de Belleval. Still accompanied by Olivier Château, their loyal partner, the twins have won back the 4 toques thanks to their cuisine, which is as festive and enthusiastic as ever.
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