José CABADO

Chef : 1 restaurant

Presentation

"When I was growing up, I was always very greedy and loved to cook. When the others were in the living room, I stayed in the kitchen", recalls José Cabado. So, after passing his CAP in one year as an independent candidate, he left to train at the Hôtel Lutetia, as second commis with Jacky Fréon.

After a year at the Bistrot Parisien on rue Marbeuf, he joined the Brasserie Vagenende as demi-chef de partie. "I was theyoungest. All the chefs de partie were 30, but I was barely 21," he says. In 1995, José Cabado became chef de partie at a gastronomic restaurant in the Basque Country, before moving to Spain two years later to work at Santiso. Eight months later, he returned to Paris and applied for a position at the Pavillon des Princes. He stayed there for two years as Patrick Lenôtre's second-in-command. "That was the most formative moment in my career," he says.

Although he liked the house, an opportunity arose for him: to take up his first chef's post at L'Excuse, a restaurant in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. "The boss gave me carte blanche, so I was able to recruit the team I wanted, and it went really well," he recalls. Three years later, the establishment was sold. José Cabado left to work in a brasserie, Le Petit Saint-Benoît, to learn how to improve his speed of execution. After this experience, he returned to Galicia in Spain to open his own restaurant, Le Français. He didn't return to the capital until seven years later to inaugurate his own restaurant, La Bonne Excuse, which quickly earned him 2 Gault&Millau toques.

I.B.

Biography & Awards

1972 Naissance à Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle (Espagne), arrive à l’âge de 8 ans en région parisienne

1990 Formé à l’Hôtel Lutetia (Paris 7e)

1993 Demi-chef de partie à la brasserie Vagenende (Paris 6e)

1996 Restaurant Santiso (Espagne)

1997 Second de cuisine au Pavillon des Princes (Paris 16e), avec Patrick Lenôtre

1999 Premier poste de chef à L’Excuse (Paris 4e)

2002 Chef à la brasserie Le Petit Saint-Benoît (Paris 6e)

2003 Retourne en Espagne, ouvre son restaurant Le Français, en Galice

2012 Ouverture de son restaurant La Bonne Excuse (Paris 7e)