Lionel HÉNAFF

Chef : 1 restaurant

Presentation

A must in Brittany, Lionel Hénaff's culinary creations revolve around local produce and the sea. From an early age, the chef was keenly aware of Brittany's fine produce, which he discovered at the Sainte-Thérèse market in Rennes. He did his apprenticeship in the region. "I dreamed of working in a big house, with Michel Bras or Marc Veyrat, but it didn't happen..." he says.

Then he met his wife Frédérique. In 1996, the couple moved to Ireland, near Galway. Lionel Hénaff landed his first job as a chef at Ty Armor, an establishment run by a Breton. He learned to love and cook seafood. In 1999, he joined forces with his parents-in-law at the Roseraie de Bel-Air in Pluguffan. The awards soon followed. "Gault&Millau gave a 16/20 rating to a recipe for squab with wild herbs, millet, orange and juniper," recalls the chef. The restaurant was awarded 3 toques in 2003.

In 2014, the Hénaffs took the plunge and opened their own establishment, Allium, on the outskirts of Quimper. Recognition from the profession was unanimous: the 3 toques came straight away, then Lionel won the Gault&Millau d'Or Grand Ouest 2018. "I'm continuing my work to develop my cuisine, which is very plant-based and marked by the seasons. I use a lot of foraged produce and grow edible flowers."To be continued...

F.H.