Mathieu LE GUILLOIS

Presentation

"My father was a farmer in the Vexin region. As a teenager, Mathieu Le Guillois wanted to make the most of it. In 1996, he enrolled at the Lycée Technique Hôtelier François-Rabelais in Hérouville-Saint-Clair, where he obtained his vocational baccalaureate with a cuisine option, followed by a complementary diploma in restaurant dessert cooking, a field in which he excelled.

In 2003, the young apprentice was crowned vice-champion of France in dessert à l'assiette in the Junior category, and attracted the attention of Christophe Leroy in particular. The chef offered him his first position as a commis in Saint-Tropez. He joined the "Soirées blanches" catering service. In 2004, he moved to Courchevel to work at the Chabichou with MOF Stéphane Buron. Once the season was over, he headed for the spotlight. He reunited with Christophe Leroy in Cannes, where he worked in the short-lived beach restaurants during the festival.

In 2010, after stints at Domaine de Clairefontaine (Isère) and Château La Chenevière, Port-en-Bessin-Huppain (Calvados), the young man joins MOF Manuel Martinez's team at Relais Louis XIII in Paris. But the capital got the better of him. "I didn't like it there. Nine months later, the young provincial left the hustle and bustle of the City of Light and moved to Château d'Esclimont (Eure-et-Loir). As second-in-command, he saw three chefs come and go over the course of four years, successfully managing the transitions.

"After working alongside several MOFs, I said to myself: why not me?" In 2014, Mathieu Le Guillois tried his luck, but returned from the competition depressed. It took him twenty-four hours to recover. "I felt like a loser. And then I realized that I came from a family of entrepreneurs. I wasn't cut out to be a lifelong employee. A new challenge was opening up for me."

Bold and motivated, he set out to find an establishment in his image. A stroke of luck: Régis Lecomte was looking for a successor to take over Le Dauphin, a well-known restaurant in Calvados. "This institution, with its half-timbering and fireplace, is full of charm. Back on his home turf , Mathieu Le Guillois is defending a Norman culinary heritage to which he is particularly attached. "I'm not at all interested in innovative cuisine. Gault&Millau awarded him the Cuisine de la Mer Normandie 2023 trophy.

B. G.