Tony POCHON

Chef : 1 restaurant

Presentation

Thirty-five years have passed since Tony Pochon started out in the restaurant business. With his mouth full of gusto, it's an understatement to say that he's made his mark on the scene. His first restaurant, on rue Saint-Nicolas in Rouen (where the Roland crêperie now stands), was called Hollywood Legend. It's like his surrogate first name: he thought it sounded good, that it sounded American. But that didn't stop him from already loving good tortore, the kind with a taste for the authentic.

Gradually, he shifted his focus to good mâchon. On this occasion, he taught the people of Rouen that true Lyonnais cuisine is based more on veal than pig. He was already making the best andouillette in town when he unchristened his restaurant. Given his pillar-like build, Chez l'Gros is closer to the truth than Hollywood and its sylphs. He spent twenty years in Rouen, then a few seasons in Dieppe, before finding a new home in Rouen, just below the Place de la Pucelle. He was soon crowned with a Gault&Millau chef's hat.

Tony Pochon may be a few years older, but he hasn't changed a bit. He confidently crosses paths with the great local chefs, because he knows that, at heart, he's in the same business as they are. He doesn't cook directly, but he knows how to taste and find the right merchandise, whether it's oysters, kidney or entrecôte. There are so few real bistros in Rouen, and so few real patrons like Tony. Gault&Millau logically awarded him the Tradition d'Aujourd'hui Normandie 2023 trophy.

M. E.