"We always say that taste stories start in childhood...

I grew up in a happy family where the whole life of the house was organized around a large round table. The dinners were never very complicated, but always built with vegetables from the garden, meat from the butcher, and the desire to do well. I think my mother passed on to me the taste for truth, and a form of generous simplicity. As a child, I dreamed of 1000 professions; firefighter, veterinarian, adventurer, draftsman. And to respect the family tradition I started studying pharmacy, before realizing it; what makes me vibrate happens elsewhere…

Quickly, I find myself on the benches of the Ferrandi school in Paris, where I learn the basics. Mother sauces, puff pastry, soufflés and béchamel. Then restaurant kitchens. The big bath. My first chief Mark Singer takes me under his wing and little by little, I find my place in the brigades which follow one another. The Maison de l'Aubrac, the Maison Prunier, the Plaza Athénée… the doors open and I find myself working for the biggest names; Alain Ducasse, Jean-Francois Piège, Yannick Alléno, Éric Frechon… Beyond their know-how, they passed on to me their passion, their sensitivity, their inspiration… and each of them is somewhat present in the plates that I do today.

I am often asked to describe my cooking, to define my “style”… and I think there is nothing more complicated. My roots are French, and I let myself be carried away by what surrounds me, by what I like. My cooking reflects who I am; simple, spontaneous, sincere. It expresses itself differently according to circumstances and desires, but never without losing sight of gluttony and generosity. Because that is ultimately the purpose: pleasure and sharing. »  

Amandine Chaignot