Yann Maget

Chef Yann Maget's culinary philosophy is deeply rooted in a profound respect for the product, emphasizing clarity, seasonality, and emotional resonance over deconstruction. He believes in showcasing the inherent quality of each ingredient, magnifying its essence through precise seasoning, thoughtfully crafted sauces, and harmonious accompaniments. This ethos, distilled from 14 years of intensive training under culinary titans like Yannick Alléno, Pierre Gagnaire, Kei Kobayashi, and Éric Fréchon, prioritizes taste and emotion, ensuring that technical mastery always serves the guest's sensory experience. Having settled in Brittany, Maget consciously aligns his cuisine with his adopted land's identity, history, and heritage. He champions a "simple, legible" approach, where each season dictates a renewed culinary journey. While deeply committed to local Breton terroir and products, he maintains an open mind to "distant horizons," seeking specific notes, perfumes, and spices to enhance his creations, reflecting the region's historical connection to the spice trade via the Route des Indes. This duality allows for a unique fusion of traditional bourgeois cuisine with delicate exotic spices. His personal history, marked by childhood memories of market visits with his grandparents in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, instilled in him a foundational love for sharing and quality produce. He expresses humility in his role, seeing himself as a steward of the place he officiates. Chef Yann Maget's technical mastery, honed in some of the world's most acclaimed kitchens and solidified by his "Meilleur Ouvrier de France" title, is characterized by an unwavering commitment to clarity, balance, and the elevation of natural flavors. His signature approach centers on the concept of magnifying ingredients rather than deconstructing them, using a refined palette of techniques to create dishes that are both intellectually stimulating and deeply satisfying. A constant pursuit of acidity defines his flavor profile, achieved through elements like citrus grown in the domain's greenhouses and a curated collection of natural Spanish vinegars, known for their woody and fresh notes. His cuisine is also marked by daring yet delicate "terre et mer" (land and sea) associations, reflecting the rich bounty of Brittany. These audacious creations are the fruit of a collaborative kitchen, where daily trials and collective input shape dishes over days or weeks. Plating is an art form for Maget, a devotee of drawing and design. Each dish is meticulously dressed, and the overall presentation extends to the dining room, a spectacular Victorian-style glasshouse. Here, under the direction of his wife Pauline, service becomes an immersive "spectacle," with tableside preparations such as langoustines cooked in seawater, lamb carving, and flambéed desserts. This theatricality, combined with the precision of his culinary craft, culminates in a sensory journey that marries traditional elegance with audacious innovation. Signature dishes that exemplify his style include: * Squid with pork, served with charcuterie sauce (Encornet au cochon, sauce charcutière) * Lightly grilled oysters with sausage (Huîtres juste grillées associées à de la saucisse) * Candied abalone, seared in seaweed butter, with crispy veal tripe (Ormeaux confits, snackés au beurre d’algues et tripes de veau croustillantes) * Veal sweetbreads, watercress, anchovy, and buckwheat (Ris de veau, cresson, anchois et sarrasin) * Crispy pork patty, poached oyster, rocket coulis, pork and shellfish jus (Palet de cochon croustillant, huitre pochée, coulis de roquette, jus de cochon et de coquillage) * Langoustine cooked in seawater, sucrine lettuce leaves, mayonnaise, and buckwheat popcorn (Langoustine cuite à l'eau de mer, feuilles de sucrine, mayonnaise et pop-corn de sarrasin) * From pastry chef Annabelle Lévêque, in resonance with his universe: Grapefruit and caviar lime salad in a frosted Vietnamese pepper mousse, with a grapefruit crisp, Greek yogurt crémeux, and rosé champagne granita. * Chocolate ganache, toasted barley rice pudding, Breton whiskey caramel, chocolate crémeux, and peated whiskey chocolate coulis.

Career

• Cook at Club de Direction du Palais Brongniart, Paris
• Chef De Partie at Le Bristol Paris, Paris
• Second De Cuisine at Le Bristol Paris, Paris
• Sous-chef at Le Bristol Paris, Paris
• Chef De Cuisine at Château de Locguénolé, Relais & Châteaux, Kervignac

Mentored by Guy Christmann, Philippe Mille, Yannick Alléno.