International
Sébastien GROSPELLIER
Chef : 1 restaurant
"As a child, I loved to play in the restaurant my grandfather ran in Albigny-sur-Saône, in the Rhône region", Sébastien Grospellier likes to recall. As a teenager, he was adamant that he wanted to be a chef, period. To make a career out of it, the schoolboy enrolled at the Lycée Hôtelier in Poligny (Jura): the key that opened the doors to the prestigious Hôtel de Paris in Monaco. In 1994, he joined the Grill as a commis, his eyes full of stars. After completing his military service in the kitchen in 1996, he moved on to the Château de Fère (Aisne), then to the Domaine de Rochevilaine, in Billiers (Morbihan), where he rose through the ranks to become chef de partie.
On the strength of this experience, Sébastien Grospellier returned to his native Vosges and joined Jean-Paul Jeunet's brigade in Arbois (Jura). After instilling his knowledge in him, the chef kindly advised him to go elsewhere, to the restaurant La Pyramide, in Vienne (Isère), to enrich his skills. The second chef learned his lesson. After following these recommendations, he set off to work with one of the greatest: Bernard Loiseau, in Saulieu (Côte-d'Or), from 2002 to 2004.
He left the master for the Auberge des Adrets in Fréjus (Var). Here, he was to meet his future wife and business partner, Floriane, with whom he moved to Lisbon in 2005. Sébastien Grospellier then took charge of the kitchens at the Four Seasons, where he flourished. "Everything was going well for us. One day, I received a call from Gérard Alonso, head of La Table de Chaintré (Saône-et-Loire), who asked me to take over. We both knew and liked the establishment well, having dined there on several occasions when we were in the area. We weren't particularly interested in becoming homeowners, but we did apply for a loan. We said to ourselves: the bank will decide."
A few weeks later, Sébastien and Floriane packed their bags and headed for Chaintré! In 2007, the couple took over this little country house nestled among the vines. The chef offers a tasting menu that varies every Tuesday according to what he finds at his local suppliers, "who dictate what I write on my menu". This salutary technique earned him 3 toques and the title of Grand de Demain in 2011. In 2022, thanks to an event organized by Gault&Millau in Charolles, he met representatives from Bonnet Thirode, with whom he decided to completely overhaul his kitchen, "a major tool that will enable us, I hope, to progress".
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