Stéphane AVELIN

Chef Stéphane Avelin offers classic Mediterranean cuisine at Caprice des Deux, Saint-Tropez's "double toqué" restaurant.

Presentation

"As a child, I used to spend my summers at my grandparents' campsite in Le Lavandou, where they offered take-away meals" This ethic of sharing has never left Stéphane Avelin. At the age of 14, the teenager entered the lycée hôtelier in Toulon. Three years later, he graduated with a CAP (vocational training certificate) and knocked on the door of the Hôtel Assistance agency based in Nice: "It enabled young graduates to launch their careers. In 1983, Stéphane Avelin sharpened his first knives at Château Saint-Martin & Spa, in Vence (Alpes-Maritimes), as a pastry chef. In 1984, he moved on to the Campo dell'Oro hotel in Ajaccio, then to La Pergola in Cavalaire-sur-Mer (Var). For five years, he learned all the basics of French gastronomy, from cookies to sauce bases.

In 1989, he moved to the little village he loved so much: Saint-Tropez. At Nano, he took charge of the daily specials as second chef, but the chef eventually sold out. In 1994, Stéphane Avelin decided to join forces with his sister Sonia, then head chef, to open Caprice des Deux, right in the heart of the town. "My grandparents made the financial sacrifice of a lifetime to help us fulfill our whim."

In 2014, the Gault&Millau guide awarded him a second toque: a fine gift to celebrate the establishment's 20th anniversary in style. In 2016, the chef was crowned regional champion of the maîtres restaurateurs, which he had joined two years earlier. For all that, Stéphane Avelin prefers to keep a low profile. Today, supported by his wife and two children, he perpetuates a certain tradition of French gastronomy, initiated by Escoffier.

B. G.