Paul IACONO

Chef : 1 restaurant A former top-level cyclist, Paul Iacono gradually converted to cooking, with which he admits he has an almost carnal relationship.

Presentation

A native of Strasbourg (even though he was born in Schiltigheim), Paul Iacono loves the Robertsau district where he now lives. The son of an Arte television programmer and an insurance broker, young Paul quickly developed an interest in cooking. "As a child, I was regularly rapped on the knuckles because I loved coming into the kitchen and eating directly from the pans. The pleasure of plunging my fork or fingers into a simmering dish before anyone else was incomparable.But once at the table, I wasn't always hungry. "

At the same time as competing in cycling, he started cooking at Chez Julien restaurant in Foudray .

Although his mother always saw him as a future chef, Paul Iacono initially imagined a destiny along the lines of Laurent Jalabert or Richard Virenque. Passionate about cycling to the point of competing at a very high level until the 2010s, it was his even greater love of cooking that finally won out. "In cycling, I wasn't earning a living and I didn't have the level to join the pros. I managed to get into Julien's, in Foudray, then La Vignette, in the Robertsau district, where I was able to learn the basics of cooking and then progress. "

Growing in confidence, and still fascinated by the carnal, almost animal side of cooking, Paul Iacono took part in a number of competitions, not without success, and entered Le Violon d'Ingres, under the direction of Eric Meyer. " But I was looking for something even more ambitious. I moved on to Yannick Germain's in Sessenheim, then to La Cheneaudière in Colroy la Roche, in the Bruche valley. It was at this establishment that my wife Delphine, with whom I'd been living for a few years, entered the profession by joining the front-of-house team. "

After a long experience at the Buerehiesel, he bought the Violon d'Ingres with his wife Delphine .

After nearly four years as Eric Westermann's sous-chef at the Buerehiesel, this cycling enthusiast ("in 2023, I'll have clocked up over 16,000 km") jumped at the chance to buy Le Violon d'Ingres. "Delphine and I already lived in the neighborhood, and Eric Meyer suggested I take over the establishment behind him. We served our first customers in May 2023, and now only work together, by choice. Fifteen covers, no more, beautiful products, beautiful sauces and, I hope, a lot of good humor in the dining room" .