Nadia Sammut

Chef Nadia Sammut embodies a culinary philosophy centered on joyous, virtuous, and generously gourmand cuisine, profoundly shaped by her personal journey with celiac disease and multiple food intolerances. This foundational experience transformed a childhood "nightmare at the table" into a powerful engine for innovation, leading her to redefine gastronomy as "Cuisine Libre®" – a world free of gluten and lactose, yet rich in flavor and inclusivity. She views food as an act of profound responsibility and attention, preferring to be called a "nourricière" (nurturer) and "chef d'orchestre" (orchestra conductor) rather than merely a chef, emphasizing her role in harmonizing ingredients from nature to create dishes that gather everyone without exclusion. Her vision extends beyond the plate to encompass a regenerative food model. Through the "Nourrir" movement and the "Vie" endowment fund, she actively engages in research with institutions like SupAgro Montpellier, focusing on future-proof seeds and sustainable agriculture. Her experimental garden serves as a living laboratory for developing "madeleines de Proust" for 2040, using little-known seeds adapted to changing climates. This holistic approach connects the earth to the table, ensuring that ingredients are sourced with utmost respect for the soil, seasons, and local ecosystems, thereby revitalizing rural territories through an integrated network of a mill, bakery, plant-based pastry shop, and production of preserves, ice creams, and pasta. She is a fervent advocate for working hand-in-hand with local farmers and breeders, embodying the belief that "agriculture, c'est la vie" and paving the way for the plate of tomorrow. Chef Sammut's technical mastery is characterized by an inventive and exploratory style, born from transforming culinary constraints into creative liberation. Building on solid classic culinary foundations inherited from her family, she has pioneered the use of alternative flours such as chestnut, buckwheat, and sorghum, constantly discovering new possibilities each offers. Her relentless quest for non-allergenic ingredients led to unique creations like couscous made from prickly pear seed semolina, a testament to her "chemistry to cuisine libre" evolution. Her approach to flavor and plating is akin to composing a musical score, where each dish is a thoughtful arrangement of natural harmonies, prioritizing the innate qualities of products and the rhythm of the seasons. This results in a cuisine that is not only vegetal, gluten-free, and lactose-free but also pure and deeply respectful of its components. While the text highlights cherished family recipes like her grandmother's "couette gustative" tomato sauce and her mother's "pure as a Japanese work" John Dory carpaccio, these serve more as inspirations for her philosophy of simplicity and respect for ingredients rather than her own signature dishes. Her true signature lies in the innovative and versatile transformation of humble ingredients, most notably the chickpea, which she elevates into countless forms—flour, milk, pastry, custard, spreads, and ice creams—showcasing its extraordinary potential and central role in Mediterranean alimentation.

Career

• Executive Chef / Chef-Owner at Le Goût du Bonheur - La Fenière, Cadenet