Sébastien RENARD

Chef : 1 restaurant In Béthune, in the house where Marc Meurin made his name, Sébastien Renard thrives on fine produce.

Presentation

The eldest of a family of four children, Sébastien Renard remembers getting a taste for cooking from his mother. " I loved school, I loved learning, and I still love it today," says Sébastien, who went on to earn a Bac Techno and then a BTS in 2014. "Once I had my diplomas, I was determined to move to Paris. I was lucky enough to join Alain Ducasse's team at Le Meurice, working with Christophe Saintagne. He taught me a lot and always gave me great support, and I have a lot of admiration for him.

Christophe Saintagne, an inspiring chef

When Saintagne left Le Meurice to open his own restaurant, Papillon, Sébastien Renard didn't hesitate to join him. "In the back of my mind, I already had plans to open my own restaurant. A few months after opening Papillon, the young man from the Nord region felt the need to get back to his roots and applied for a job with the great Marc Meurin, at Château de Beaulieu in Busnes. It was a decisive encounter with a chef who was always present in the kitchen, always ready to delegate and pass on. "I stayed for five years, until Marc Meurin retired. I was then lucky enough to be able to take part in "Top Chef", like my friend and former colleague Camille Delcroix, which undoubtedly accelerated my career."

Moving to Béthune in 2023

At the beginning of 2022, after the end of filming on the M6 show, Sébastien Renard made a series of visits, mainly to the Côte d'Opale, in search of a place to set up. And it was Alexandre Gauthier, over lunch with friends, who put him on the right track. In Béthune, Marc Meurin's former restaurant (until 2003) was for sale.

The building is magnificent, the place mythical: "It quickly became obvious to me. I bought the premises, carried out a lot of work, without a backer, and opened in the spring of 2023, creating five guest rooms.

Barely a year later and 2 toques quickly won, Marc Meurin's former student wins our Terroir d'Exception trophy.