PROFILES

This Michelin-starred chef is a serious athlete too, a born competitor who wants to lead the field and thrives on challenges.

His cooking credentials? The Bristol Paris, the Ritz, Le Crillon, the Royal Monceau… and now two Oetker Collection jewels. In winter at L’Apogée Courchevel, Lefrançois serves a convivial, refined French cuisine that hints at mountains, but also elegant Japanese cuisine concocted “with all this French chef’s love of Japan”, his second homeland. As spring approaches he returns south to the hills above Vence, to join his Château Saint-Martin & Spa team for the summer season. Here it’s about haute gastronomie for a restaurant that has held a Michelin star since 2017. “Two outstanding establishments with very different identities,” he emphasises, “but where I apply the same work philosophy, the same diligence, the same excellence.” Essential values for a chef always on the move, who when not in the kitchens is quick to clip on his cross-country skis or going running over the Riviera’s baous, training in preparation for legendary sports challenges such as the Embrunman Long Distance Triathlon, the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc and the Diagonale des Fous on Reunion Island. Challenges that are performance driven but as much about personal equilibrium: “I’m alone with myself, absorbing nature which nourishes my creativity. That’s vital for me!” This aesthete likes nothing better than to share his worlds and his sensitivity at his table – of course! – through seasonal menus that decline flavours “with a lovely, light, genuine touch”. On the ski slopes too and in summer in the Vence hills, where he invites customers on gastronomic picnics. “Delightful sharing experiences” from an unusual chef on a quest for the thrilling.

Le Saint-Martin* 
Vence, 2490 avenue des Templiers
Tél. 04 93 58 40 85
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Par Christine Mahé