Jérôme Banctel is Gault&Millau France's chef of the year

Jérôme Banctel, chef of Le Gabriel at La Réserve Paris, was named Cuisinier de l'Année 2027 by Gault&Millau France on Monday 9 November, at the guide's gala in the Carrousel du Louvre. He succeeds César Troisgros, last year's winner, and beat three other finalists: Philippe Mille of Arbane in Reims, Julien Roucheteau of La Réserve de Beaulieu and David Toutain of his own restaurant in Paris.

The guide rates Le Gabriel 18.5 out of 20 and, according to the palmarès published by Les Nouvelles Gastronomiques, moves it up to five toques, alongside Fleur de Loire in Blois and Le Petit Nice in Marseille. The jury spoke of a chef at the peak of an inimitable style and singled out two signatures: cooking in lime and deep jus made without cream or butter. It is a tasting-menu address at the opposite end of the scale from the bistro classics in our guide to what to eat in Paris, and the guide's most prized title returns to the capital after a year away.

Banctel said he was very proud to receive it. Around 1,600 guests attended the ceremony, held under the theme "Food Is Art" and presided over by Patrick Hayoun, the guide's chairman.

Gault&Millau catches up with a kitchen Michelin crowned with three stars in 2024.

Jérôme Banctel, from Brittany to avenue Gabriel

Banctel is Breton and, according to Les Nouvelles Gastronomiques, grew up in Piré-sur-Seiche, near Rennes, where his grandmother's cooking set him on the way to the trade. He worked with André Daguin, then with Bernard Pacaud at L'Ambroisie, and spent years as second to Alain Senderens at Lucas Carton, a post he held until 2013.

In 2015 he took over the kitchens of La Réserve Paris, the Michel Reybier hotel where he runs Le Gabriel and La Pagode de Cos. Le Gabriel won two Michelin stars in 2016, and the Michelin Guide added the third in March 2024. Gault&Millau had already shortlisted him for chef of the year in 2024, without giving him the title.

The rest of the 2027 Gault&Millau palmarès

Clément Réauté of Fleur de Loire in Blois was named pastry chef of the year, and Paz Levinson, who runs the wine lists of Anne-Sophie Pic's restaurants, sommelier of the year. Olivier Bikao of Le Meurice in Paris won the front-of-house trophy. Nolwenn Corre of the Hostellerie de la Pointe Saint-Mathieu in Plougonvelin took the Grand de Demain award and Noé Viviès of Jozy in Rennes the young talent prize: two Breton addresses on the night a Breton chef won.

The guide also gave its first award for a no- and low-alcohol sommelier, one of the categories it announced in October with its 28 nominees for the 2027 trophies. It went to Orane Vanheule of the Auberge du Vert Mont in Boeschepe. The new design and hospitality trophy went to Zouzou at the Palais de la Méditerranée in Nice, and the illustration prize to Aude Danguy des Déserts.

The 2027 Guide France reaches bookshops on 12 November at €25 and covers 2,500 addresses. For Banctel, the title arrives after a first shortlisting that came to nothing: Gault&Millau has caught up with a kitchen that Michelin put among its three-star tables in 2024.