International
Marine Abeil et Gauthier VENTER
Chef : 1 restaurant Enthusiastic and creative, Gauthier Venter and Marine Abeil are awakening Orleans at the helm of their 2-Toques Maga restaurant.
He's Belgian, she grew up in the Yvelines, they met in Lyon and opened a restaurant in the heart of Orléans. These young parents have chosen to be just the two of them to welcome their customers at Maga, a delicious little table that saw the light of day just a few months before the Covid epidemic. " We're happy with the way things work, our business is profitable and it gives us time to look after our daughter," explains Marine.
Before they met on the benches of the Institut Paul Bocuse, Gauthier and Marine did not follow the same path. Very independent and hating school ("I couldn't stand still", he admits), Gauthier Venter enrolled on his own, at the age of 12 and against his parents' advice, in an immersive school in Namur. He was a boarder, taking classes all day, and followed this up with summer internships. "Initially, I wanted to work indoors. And it was during a stint at La Grappe d'Or, in Torgny, that chef Clément Petitjean convinced me to go over to the other side of the pass. I was passionate about it, I was on the train for an hour and a half every morning and evening, but I learned a lot."
On the advice of his boss, Gauthier Venter agreed to go back to school, at the Institut Paul Bocuse. "I didn't learn much technically. On the other hand, the management, accounting and safety courses taught me a lot. And that's where Marine and I met."
The young woman, who has just graduated with a degree in psychology, had always wanted to cook too. Once she had graduated from the Institute, Marine Abeil joined Jean Sulpice's kitchens, then in Val-Thorens. "Gauthier was working in Courchevel, at K2, with Nicolas Sale. He used to ski down to Val-Thorens to meet me. It took him an hour, but it was for a good cause, and much faster than by car," she says with a smile.
After multiple experiences (at the Yam'Tcha or Loiseau Rive Gauche, with Maxime Laurenson, for her, at Playtime and Bouillon, for him), the couple decided to settle in Orléans. "We bought the Chez Jules restaurant. We broke practically everything, rebuilt it ourselves, and opened in November 2019, the day after the final hammering. We were exhausted, but so happy. And Maga quickly found its clientele. We both cook, but Marine is more at the stove than I am when it's time to serve. I like it, I like advising on the wines, and this way of working suits us perfectly." The recipe for success is undoubtedly a conscious sharing of tasks, uncompromising use of produce, and a cuisine that is both simple and sophisticated. They offer their customers a tasty, convivial experience, which has earned them a place in the 2023 edition of 109 - Le Sang neuf de la gastronomie française. Le Sang neuf de la gastronomie française and to be awarded 2 toques and the Gault&Millau Accueil 2024 trophy for the region.
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