Laurent CHERCHI
Chef : 1 restaurant In Montpellier, Laurent Cherchi creates gluten-free, healthy and responsible cuisine. From patisserie to grand houses, he and his wife have developed Reflet d'Obione.
Presentation
Chef Laurent Cherchiis deeply committed to ethical, gluten-free cooking, to which he himself is intolerant, and he always knew he would become a chef.
"As far back as I can remember, I always knew I'd end up behind a stove. But I hesitated between cooking and pastry-making. I did a work-study apprenticeship in Avignon, where I was born, and obtained a CAP in pastry-making, followed by an additional qualification in the store. I wanted to be as complete as possible .
During his apprenticeship, he worked at Le Lutrin in Avignon, then joined Thierry Baucher, Meilleur Ouvrier de France, at Les 5 Sens in the Papal City (now Pollen, Mathieu Desmarest's restaurant ).
An international career between Europe and Australia
After graduating, he moved abroad: one year in Brussels, two years in Switzerland, then two years in Melbourne, again in pastry, before gradually working his way up to chef at Vue de Monde.
on his return to France, he joined Gaëtan Gentilat Agapé Substance in Paris, then Christophe Moret at Lasserre as chef saucier. "At the time, we formed quite a team with Matthias Marc and Omar Dhiab, among others . It was an exceptional opportunity for me to occupy such a position, even though I'd worked mainly in pastry until then. When the chef left for the Shangri-La, I followed him.
Reflet d'Obione in Montpellier, responsible cuisine
At the same time, he and his wife Adèle Escafitwere maturing their plans to open the restaurant . "I didn't really want to come back to Avignon, where I grew up. Montpellier appealed to us because of its potential and because we felt there was still room for a restaurant like ours. "
He develops a gluten-free, healthy and responsible cuisine, with vegetarian and vegan variations, in addition to the classic versions based on well-bred meats and fish from small-scale fisheries.
National recognition for Laurent Cherchi
Nearly five years after Reflet d'Obione opened in late 2018, the chef measures how far he's come. " One of my proudest achievements is that today there are around fifteen of us at the restaurant. We were just three when we opened. Our customers follow us and appreciate our vision of the restaurant business. It's an increasingly important criterion for our customers, and a fundamental one for me. "
Gault&Millau crowned him Jeune Talent France in 2020 and awarded him the Cuisine de la Mer, des Lacs et des Rivières Occitanie trophy in 2023.
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