Amidst the verdant fields and ever-changing skies of northern France, Alexandre Gauthier has sculpted a universe where nature and gastronomy merge into a single language. Born in Boulogne-sur-Mer in 1979, his career is an ode to instinct and the land. From his early days at the hotel schools of Le Touquet and La Rochelle, Gauthier displayed a sensitivity that transcended mere technique: a quest for a culinary soul.
After training with masters such as Régis Marcon, Michel Roth, and Olivier Brulard, in 2003 he embraced the family legacy and became chef-owner of La Grenouillère, a former inn in La Madeleine-sous-Montreuil. What could have been a story of tradition was transformed, under his vision, into a contemporary manifesto. With the collaboration of architect Patrick Bouchain, the space was reinvented between 2010 and 2011 as a sanctuary of steel and wood where each dish engages in a dialogue with the architecture, the light, and the silence.
The Michelin stars arrived—the first in 2008, the second in 2017—but Gauthier's true brilliance lies in his authenticity. His cuisine doesn't seek to please, but to move: roots, leaves, smoke, and sea become poetic strokes of a landscape served on a plate. In 2012, France named him Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres; in 2019, Officier. That same year, he opened pieuX, a guesthouse conceived as an extension of his culinary universe, and later Grand'Place Café and Sur Mer, a beach restaurant that celebrates simplicity with the same aesthetic rigor.
A member of Relais & Châteaux and Les Grandes Tables du Monde, Alexandre Gauthier has transformed Montreuil-sur-Mer into a spiritual destination for lovers of pure flavor. At his table, French tradition is reinvented: fierce, sincere, and profoundly human.
Photos: Marie Pierre Morel | Daddy loves Mommy | Jeanne Lozay
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