He's a cook, just like his dad: «I discovered this trade when I was four, in the kitchen with Dad. He was the one who taught me to peel potatoes and make a crème brûlée.» And Hamid Amarouche has never looked back. He's now chef at the Charles Livon. «I passed my vocational exams at the Corot apprentice training centre in Marseille but went no further. Perhaps out of laziness,» says the 32-year-old chef with regret. He trained with top local chefs like René Alloin and Dominique Frérard. Hamid has painful memories of working in the family restaurant: «At 19 I was working in my father's restaurant. It was tough being a son and a commis chef at the same time!» At 20 he landed a job at the Ladurée restaurant in Paris. «We served 450 to 500 customers a day and everything was homemade,» he remembers, adding that that year was «one of the biggest experiences» of his life. In 2009 he came back to Marseille, to work in the kitchens at the Corbusier-designed Ventre de l'Architecte. That experience cemented his relationship with Alban and Dominique Gérardin, the owners. The next step, in 2014, was a move to the Charles Livon. «I have their complete trust here. It's up to me to change things and define my identity.» The result is an instinctive style of cuisine focused on the produce. With a classic basis, a few daring touches and some combinations of textures the menu really comes into its own. What's Hamid's dream now? «To have a family of my own, with two kids.» That's another challenge.
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89 boulevard Charles Livon, Marseille 7e - Tél. 04 91 52 22 41 |
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