Romain BONNET

Chef : 1 restaurant Trained by Pierre Gagnaire and Julien Roucheteau, 2-toque chef Romain Bonnet is now at the helm of Omija, in Nantes.

Presentation

With parents who work a lot, Romain Bonnet likes to be alone in the kitchen and to please his family: "Above all, I liked to see the satisfaction of seeing people happy to eat something good." He began by studying food processing. In his third year, he took a degree in innovation and culinary arts, which included a compulsory internship, which the future chef spent at a Mercure hotel in Caen. He completed his bac pro apprenticeship at the Manoir de la Régate in Nantes, in Loïc Pérou's kitchens. In 2010, this competitor at heart won the regional scallop competition, for which the first prize was an internship with Laurent Saudeau at the Manoir de la Boulaie. He eventually spent two years there.

In 2012, Romain Bonnet tried his hand at bistro cuisine at La Raffinerie, working with chef Nicolas Bourget. He became sous-chef, buoyed by "a menu that changed regularly". In 2013, he joined Pierre Gagnaire at Le Balzac, where he was in charge of amuse-bouches, starters and garnishes: "I learned all about bitterness." In 2016, if the Troisgros house is one of his dreams, Romain Bonnet hears about Julien Roucheteau, Troisgros' disciple, at the Table du Lancaster. He became second-in-command there, then followed the chef to the Scène Thélème the following year, where he had previously worked with Guy Savoy.

In 2019, Romain Bonnet feels ready to stand on his own two feet. " He opened Omija in Nantes, whose name alone embodies a certain idea of cuisine: "Omija is a Korean berry that I discovered at Pierre Gagnaire's place. It resembles a pepper and, when infused, it has five flavors: acidic, salty, bitter and so on. That pretty much sums up my cooking career."

T. L.