Vivien Durand, Gault&Millau d'Or 2024 for the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region

Mathieu Dubus | 6/24/24, 4:21 PM

The chef at Le Prince Noir restaurant in Lormont was named Gault&Millau d'Or at the Gault&Millau Tour Nouvelle-Aquitaine 2024.

Vivien Durand, chef at Le Prince Noir restaurant (3 toques) in Lormont, was named Gault&Millau d'Or at the Gault&Millau Tour Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The event was held this Monday, June 24, 2024 at Hangar 14, Bordeaux.

Arrival at the Prince Noir

Originally from the Pyrenees, the chef has always dreamed big. From an early age, he wanted to work for Alain Ducasse, and his wish came true when he joined the Louis XV team at Monaco's Hôtel de Paris (Gault&Millau Académie) in 2001. He went on to gain a wealth of experience, meeting people who reassured him of his convictions as a chef, and opened his first restaurant. In 2014, he again crossed paths with the chef at Le Meurice. He tells him about an establishment where the current chef is due to retire, and the opportunity is seized: here he is at the helm of Le Prince Noir.

Vivien Durand wants to make his establishment "a place where people feel good". He expresses his desire "to have a clear cuisine, so that people understand what we're cooking. We're in a wine-growing region, and to make the most beautiful pairings, the most beautiful associations, you need as much clarity as possible." To achieve this, the chef tries to go "almost systematically to the essentials."

His secret to seducing his clientele? "I think that in cooking, the most of each dish is to manage to touch a memory or a taste of childhood. For me, it's the final seasoning." To achieve this, the chef and his teams listen carefully to their guests' feedback. "We treasure this feedback and use it to imagine our dishes."

Gault&Millau d'Or 2024

"Today's accolade puts the finishing touches to all our hard work. We've been at Le Prince Noir for ten years now, and it feels really good, because we give everything we've got every day to this restaurant," explains Vivien Durand. He adds: "It's a great source of pride to have an institutional guide like Gault&Millau give us this award, it proves that we weren't wrong to do what we do" he confides.

▶ Read the full portrait of chef Vivien Durand in the Têtes d'affiche section of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine guide on sale this Thursday, June 6, 2024.

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