Marine HERVOUET

Chef : DAMES Trained by Alain Passard and Bruno Verjus, Marine Hervouet opened Dames (2 toques) in Dol-de-Bretagne in 2025 with her partner Pascaline Albicini. Terroir d’Exception trophy 2026 in Brittany.

Presentation

No doubt influenced by a godfather and godmother who loved good food, Marine Hervouet remembers being driven by a passion for cooking from a very young age. She entered the CFA at 16, met her future partner Pascaline Albicini there, also a cook, and left for London before turning 18 to work for two years alongside Alyn Williams at The Westbury. “A very rewarding first experience alongside a committed chef and excellent technician, from whom I learned a lot.”

From L’Arpège to the Table de Bruno Verjus

The young woman dreamed of great restaurants, and it was in Paris that she wanted to pursue her career. Alain Passard’s pure, in-the-moment cuisine fascinated her. She spent five years on rue de Varenne at L’Arpège, starting as a commis and leaving as sous-chef, having also tried her hand at events alongside the chef. “In 2017, I left L’Arpège to join Bruno Verjus’s team in the 12th arrondissement. A completely different kind of chef, of course, but someone just as passionate, with great culture, alongside whom I modestly contributed to the restaurant’s then-growing reputation.”

Dames, a Breton table that never empties

Pascaline Albicini, a native of Saint-Malo who worked alongside Joël Robuchon and Jean-Pierre Vigato and is passionate about wine, is a champion of Brittany. But the couple preferred to steer clear of the big tourist hubs and bought a former truck stop in Dol-de-Bretagne, where they opened Dames (2 toques) in 2025. “A choice that may have surprised people, but there isn’t much on offer in the area. We’re a two-minute walk from the station where the TGV stops, not far from the expressway and the sea.” Fully booked at every service, the restaurant turns people away, yet its two founders have no wish to increase the number of covers. On 1 June 2026, Marine Hervouet received the Terroir d’Exception trophy at the Gault&Millau Tour Bretagne.