“I’m not good at speeches, a little better at cooking,” he joked when coming to collect his prestigious award Monday evening.
At 35, Fabien Ferré, behind the stoves of the Table du Castellet in the Var, made Michelin guide history by becoming the youngest chef to be awarded a third star by the bible of French gastronomy.
Would I have ever imagined being on this stage with the greatest reward?
», he added, before asking his mentor Christophe Bacquié (three stars in 2018) to join him.
Because two years ago, Fabien Ferré was still only the second in command of this prestigious establishment backed by a luxurious five-star hotel located between Toulon and Marseille, which until 2022 was the Provençal kingdom of Christophe Bacquié.
“I'm very proud of this boy, and what he has under his belt.
I predicted the best for him, it happened faster than I thought,” confided the man who welcomed him in 2013 as head of party, worked to “channel” him, to the point of proposing him as his successor.
An extremely rare performance
In thirty years, this is only the third time that an establishment has managed to achieve three stars at once.
The last to achieve gold, without going through silver and bronze, is Arnaud Donckele in Paris in 2022 for the restaurant of the Cheval Blanc Paris hotel, a jewel of the LVMH group (owner of Parisien-Aujourd'hui In France).
Also read: Arnaud Donckele, three-star chef: “Sunday meals are deeply French”
Parents who were pastry chefs and grandparents who were farmers, Fabien Ferré grew up in Burgundy and followed demanding training at Maison Troisgros (three stars) in Roanne.
Tattooed and all fired up in the kitchen, the chef has retained, according to his presentation, a penchant, even in gastronomy, for “generosity” and good slopes.
In the kitchens of Table du Castellet, “nestled between the Sainte-Baume massif and the Var coast”, the young chef continued his apprenticeship alongside Christophe Bacquié.
“He is a brilliant boy, always looking for a particular cuisine, to seek out flavors and tastes, sometimes to channel,” confided his mentor.
“Gastronomy with local identity”
“It's interesting to see the role of second in the kitchen, he had all the know-how in him and that shows how much collective dynamics there are in the kitchens, duos and sometimes people in the shadows who do a lot,” reacted to AFP Franck Pinay-Rabaroust, editor-in-chief of the media “Bouillant(e) s”.
Since 2022, Fabien Ferré has been offering “gastronomy with a local identity that celebrates and promotes the Provençal terroir” at the Table du Castellet, we can read on the website of the establishment which faces the automobile circuit of the same name.
Read alsoMichelin Guide 2024: from Paris to Castellet, discover the list of new starred restaurants
“On the plates, Provence and its marine and plant terroir are celebrated with creative dishes perfectly executed and enhanced with concentrated, deep and punchy sauces, juices and emulsions - like this coral velvet with strawberry vinegar which highlights a delicious langoustine with rhubarb”, salutes the Michelin Guide.
Currently closed, the restaurant is due to reopen on April 5.