Thomas FLACHAIRE

Chef : Chalet Flachaire After working at Troisgros, Bras, and Roellinger, Thomas Flachaire opened Chalet Flachaire (2 toques) in 2025 with his wife Estelle, an intimate restaurant in the Abondance Valley. Young Talent 2026.

Presentation

Born in 1995 in Aix-en-Provence, Thomas Flachaire trained at the Institut Paul Bocuse, then worked under Hugo Roellinger at Le Coquillage in Maisons de Bricourt, at Restaurant Marcon alongside Régis Marcon and Jacques Marcon, and at Michel Bras’s restaurant, Le Suquet, in Laguiole, as well as in Japan. He eventually joined César Troisgros at Le Bois sans feuilles, where he served as chef de partie and then sous-chef for more than three and a half years. It was there that he met Estelle. “ Our various experiences have given us a certain level of expertise, confidence, and an entrepreneurial spirit.”

A Chalet Transformed into a Mountain Restaurant

In 2023, the couple purchased a 1970s-era chalet above the village of Abondance and renovated most of it themselves. With support from the Gault&Millau Grant in 2024, Thomas and Estelle opened the Chalet Flachaire (2 toques) on February 14, 2025, featuring two suites, an open kitchen, and a handful of tables. “It was a residential chalet that we converted and renovated to turn it into a fine-dining restaurant. We did a lot of the work ourselves. ” The scale is intentionally intimate: “ We only have five tables in the restaurant, and the idea is to spend as much time as possible with our guests.”

A cuisine that follows the rhythm of the mountain seasons

Thomas Flachaire works with local farmers from the valley, his herb garden, and wild foraged ingredients to create a menu that changes every month. “In the mountains, when we talk about four seasons, it really is four seasons.” The network of producers continues to grow: “ We work with the only fish farm in Abondance; we’re lucky to have their trout production exclusively for us.”

In 2026, he received the Young Talent Award at the Gault&Millau Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. “ It’s just an award. The real reward is that our customers leave our restaurant happy.”