Meilleur Ouvrier de France award-winner and three Michelin-starred Relais & Châteaux Grand Chef Emmanuel Renaut is the undisputed Edmund Hillary of a gastronomic Everest. Showcased in his Aux Flocons de Sel in Megève, the superb Relais & Châteaux establishment belonging to the association Les Grandes Tables du Monde, his instinctive cuisine is an ode to nature, its terroir, its seasons and its benefits. He tells us about his daily life…
Early Riser
“I’m generally up before 6 o’clock, naturally depending on what time I went to bed”, he says with a laugh. “In this winter season, I like to set off just as the sun is about to rise, wearing snowshoes or sealskin soles. Nature, the forest, the mountains welcome me to recharge my batteries and inspire me. It is a precious moment, a ritual for the body, heart and soul that always allows me to start my day well.”
Daily Briefing
“After a good hour of fresh air, I go home for a well-deserved coffee, and then a 45-minute briefing with my chefs and my team. We take stock of product orders and I call my fisherman for char, trout or pike. It’s a session about looking ahead and brainstorming for the next day’s menu. Not to mention that within this same time frame, from 7am onwards, there are breakfasts to prepare for 11 rooms.”
The Magic of Details
“My brigade is made up of 25 people: a morning team and an evening team. Everyone has a very specific job and shares the same passion for this profession. For me, gastronomy is about a wealth of details, upstream preparations, the magic of improvisation leading to that special moment when we serve our guests. Instinctive, live cooking. After breakfast, which is served until 10.30am, comes the time for setting out the dining room, as well as checking the bookings made by regular or new clients.”
Time for a Journey
“Everything has to be perfect on our side and there is an almost clockwork precision that is repeated each time, even though we experience and create ephemeral pleasures. The first guests may arrive at noon and we are ready to take them on a journey between lakes and mountains after an entirely silent ‘starting shot’ echoed on their plates.”
The Chef’s Watches
Chef Emmanuel Renaut is a friend of the Audemars Piguet brand and will be working as a chef at the Hôtel des Horlogers in Le Brassus. “It is an honor and a pleasure to enjoy close ties with the Manufacture and to work within a biotope similar to Megève, preparing locally inspired cuisine with locally sourced produce.” On his wrist is a Royal Oak Jumbo extra-thin steel watch. “My first favorite watch that I often wear while working”, hesays. “Light and stylish with its timeless look, it is like a second skin, a second companion of which my wife has no reason to be jealous”, he explains with a chuckle. “The second is also an Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 selfwinding white gold model with a black dial. This one is more of an evening watch. It's very elegant and I like its pure design as well as its readability.”
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