Michaël Arnoult named Chef of the Year at Le Chef's 40th
The three-star chef of Les Morainières in Savoie was elected by his peers in Paris. Alain Passard, Maxence Barbot and Olivier Bikao were also honoured at the Trophées Le Chef.
Michaël Arnoult, chef of the three-star Les Morainières in Jongieux, Savoie, was elected Chef of the Year 2026 by his peers on Monday night, at the 40th edition of the Trophées Le Chef, held at the Parc des Princes in Paris as the trade magazine celebrated its 40 years.
The vote is what gives the title its weight. Chefs listed in the Michelin Guide France cast secret ballots, counted under a notary's supervision, according to Les Nouvelles Gastronomiques. The first winner, in 1987, was Joël Robuchon; Anne-Sophie Pic became the first woman to take it in 2007 and Mauro Colagreco the first foreign chef in 2019. Alain Ducasse is the only double winner, in 1990 and 2000.
Michaël Arnoult's year in Jongieux
Elected by starred peers in a secret ballot, six months after his third star.
The title completes a year that began in March, when the Michelin Guide France raised Les Morainières to three stars. Arnoult and his wife, Ingrid, took over the house in 2005, in the vineyards of Jongieux, and built it one star at a time.
Born in the Loire Valley, Arnoult trained at the hotel school in Montargis, cooked in France and England and spent his formative years with Emmanuel Renaut at Flocons de Sel in Megève, where he rose to sous-chef. Les Nouvelles Gastronomiques describes his cooking as rooted in Savoyard terroir and seasonal produce.
The rest of the Trophées Le Chef
Alain Passard of L'Arpège received the Transmission prize. Maxence Barbot of Le Bristol Paris was named pastry chef of the year, Bastien Debono of Yoann Conte in Veyrier-du-Lac sommelier of the year, and Olivier Bikao of Le Meurice took the service award. Loup Therezo of La Table d'Olivier Nasti won the prize for an emerging chef.
Several former Chefs of the Year were in the room, among them Ducasse, Georges Blanc and Éric Frechon. Le Chef was founded in 1986 by Francis Luzin and is now run by his daughter, Anne Luzin.
Pic, the 2007 winner, has just opened in Paris at the Fondation Cartier. Arnoult is staying in his vineyard, and his next test is the one every new three-star chef faces: keeping all three in the 2027 guide.
