International
Martin SIMONART
Martin Simonart discovered his passion for cooking in the scouts. "My father was a car salesman and my mother a math teacher. Nothing predestined me to go down this path, apart from instinct."
From his native Belgium, the teenager learned about community life with the Cub Scouts: "I loved preparing meals over an open fire and watching my comrades enjoy themselves. It was then that something clicked! To show him the realities of the profession, his father offered him an internship in one of the region's top restaurants. Martin Simonart accepted and stuck with it. He then enrolled in a hotel management school and sharpened his first knives at Le Grand Écuyer, in Cordes-sur-Ciel (Tarn), alongside Yves Thuriès. "My eyes sparkled, my dream was coming true", he says, to the satisfaction of the chef crowned Meilleur ouvrier de France, who sent him to work for Michel Rochedy at Le Chabichou in Courchevel. For one winter season, he discovered a brigade of 30 cooks. "The atmosphere was rough, like in the army, but that's what I needed: this rigor, this precision. I was in the right place."
In Courchevel, Martin Simonart met Jean-Pierre Jacob, who took him under his wing at the Le Bateau Ivre restaurant: it was the start of a long relationship. The great chef introduced him to his sister establishment in Le Bourget-du-Lac (Savoie), and appointed him second chef at the age of just 21.
After a stint with Michel Trama and the Pourcel brothers, Martin Simonart returned to his homeland. In Liernu, he took over the kitchens of chef Sang Hoon Degeimbre, owner of the restaurant L'Air du Temps. "I discovered a self-taught chef and a different way of cooking", he says, where he learned to break the rules, the art of preparation and fermentation. After a particularly rewarding year, he renewed his acquaintance with Jean-Pierre Jacob. "He had invited me to the launch of his book, in which I had participated." The chef informed him that his Bateau Ivre was about to capsize, and offered him the chance to right its helm: "In 2013, I officially became its executive chef."Despite all their efforts paying off, Jean-Pierre Jacob goes out of business.
"In 2018, I find myself back on the job market. I'm simply answering an advert." The owners of Auberge des Templiers, in Boismorand (Loiret), are looking for a new chef to succeed Yoshihiko Miura. "I discovered a beautiful region and an establishment steeped in history. In the space of five years, I've been able to contribute to the building and restore the reputation of this establishment, while continuing to uphold the tradition." Proof of his talent is the fact that the chef has managed to maintain the establishment's 3 toques.
B. G.
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