Gault&Millau names 28 nominees for its 2027 trophies
Four chefs, including David Toutain and Jérôme Banctel, lead a 28-name shortlist across seven categories, with the gala set for 9 November at the Carrousel du Louvre.
Gault&Millau unveiled 28 nominees for its 2027 national trophies on 28 September in Paris, splitting the chef of the year race between four names: Jérôme Banctel, Philippe Mille, Julien Roucheteau and David Toutain.
The guide's inspectors announced the shortlist at the Atelier du Goût, spread across seven categories that include pastry chef, sommelier, young talent and, new this year, a prize for sommeliers working with low- and no-alcohol pairings. The winners go public on 9 November at a gala inside the Carrousel du Louvre.
Four chefs vie for the top trophy
Four chefs, one trophy, and a gala that now doubles as a bet on where French fine dining goes next.
Jérôme Banctel runs Le Gabriel and La Pagode de Cos at La Réserve Paris, cooking with lime instead of butter or cream in some dishes. Philippe Mille opened Arbane in Reims last year, inside a restored 1874 bank, building menus around Champagne's seven grape varieties.
Julien Roucheteau leads Le Restaurant des Rois at La Réserve de Beaulieu on the Riviera, a Meilleur Ouvrier de France trained at Le Cinq and the Lancaster. David Toutain, who trained under Marc Veyrat and Alain Passard, runs his eponymous Paris address plus an outpost in Hong Kong, working mostly from vegetables and garden herbs.
All four restaurants already hold Gault&Millau's top rating of four toques. The chef of the year prize went last year to César Troisgros of Le Bois sans feuilles, part of Maison Troisgros in Ouches.
A new prize for low-alcohol pairing
The Sommelier No-Low category is the guide's response to a pairing trend it has tracked for several seasons, as more sommeliers build tasting menus around teas, verjus and dealcoholised wines alongside the classic list. The other five categories cover pastry chef, restaurant manager, young talent, rising talent and sommelier of the year.
Gault&Millau's regional editions have already handed out 2027 honours this autumn, including this year's gold for La Table du 11 in the Paris region and David Gallienne's win in Normandy. The national gala on 9 November will confirm which of the 28 nominees take the trophies home, and whether any of the four chefs chasing the top prize becomes the guide's next cover name.
