May 2015

Glenn Viel

  • Under starry skies in Les Baux
 
 VIEL 2

Michelin-starred kitchens are nothing new to Glenn Viel. He's been working in them since he joined the Meurice, under Marc Marchand, in 2000. Now Jean-André Charial has put him in charge of L'Oustau de Baumanière, with 2-star standards to keep up.

 

The 35-year-old Breton traveller knows that the eyes of the world will be on him as he takes up the reins of this gastronomic institution under Provençal skies. It's a challenge even for a man who's used to working in great restaurants under such leading lights as Alain Ducasse, Jean-François Piège and Nicolas Sale. After Paris and Casablanca, Marseille, Nice and Corsica, he most recently worked with Nicolas Sale at the Kilimandjaro in Courchevel. He wept when that restaurant won its second Michelin star. He says he entered a new dimension that day: one in which his pleasure and duty are to fulfil the dreams of every gourmet who comes to his restaurant. Not «his» so much as that of his whole crew, he insists. «Cuisine is the result of a group of talents, otherwise it doesn't work.» And working so closely with his lads, as he calls them, is hugely gratifying. He likes to compare himself to a sports trainer that gets his jersey wet and leads his team to ever greater heights. «Cuisine should be sincere and unpretentious,» he says, «Each mouthful should convey all the flavour of the ingredients.» Glenn Viel will have no truck with unlikely associations but goes all out to honour the best local produce. The team, under the benevolent and approving eye of Jean-André Charial, includes Victor Castellas and Bernard Chatton as well as Viel's long-time colleague Lowell Mesnier. A captain and his team, working as one for gastronomic victory.

 

Chemin départemental 27
Les Baux-de-Provence
Tél. 04 90 54 33 07