From Chef to Chef!

On the occasion of the retirement of our Head Chef, François Sehier, this interview is an opportunity to say a big THANK YOU to him and to welcome his successor, Anthony Gelin, who also comes from the world of gastronomy!

Since his arrival in 2002, François has created around a hundred recipes and reinvented the "la belle-iloise touch" over the years, playing with spices, flavours and ingredients. Anthony joined the culinary team at the beginning of 2024 and worked hand in hand with François for 1 year before taking over from him. We're celebrating this passing of the torch in pictures and words!

Anthony, how did your passion for cooking come about? What is your background?

As a child, my mother cooked a lot and I loved baking with her. Later, as I wanted to do something with my hands, the prospect of a career as a chef appealed to me. So I started my apprenticeship at the age of 15, in a restaurant in Chinon, where I was lucky enough to be apprenticed to Thierry Marx.

At 17, with my CAP in my pocket, I went up to Paris with my suitcase and my knives. I knocked on the doors of the great chefs and started as a commis at Miraville, Gilles Épié's Michelin-starred restaurant, where I discovered what gastronomic cuisine was all about.

After this first job, I had a series of experiences in starred gastronomic restaurants: Fouquet's, Maison Blanche, Plaza Athénée... Then I was taken on at Taillevent (3 Michelin stars) where I learnt a lot alongside chef Philippe Legendre and where we worked with exceptional products: fresh truffles and morels, lobster... I was promoted to Chef de Partie.

Then I was hired as Assistant Chef at the Grand Hôtel Intercontinental, Place de l'Opéra, where I stayed for 5 years. Initially, I managed the restaurant La Verrière, and when Christian Le Squer left, I replaced him as Head Chef at the Café de la Paix, a veritable Parisian institution...

After 16 years of working in gastronomic restaurants at a very intense pace, I decided to change my career path and leave Paris so that I could devote more time to my family life. So I moved to Picardy to work for a leading food company as a Research & Development Chef.

I spent 19 years creating products for this company, during which I travelled a lot abroad to develop recipes for its various brands. In 2023, I felt the need for a change. My wife and I liked the idea of Brittany, and we settled in Côtes-d'Armor. That's when I saw the advert for la belle-iloise, my application was selected and I met François!

[blue] François, why did you choose Anthony? [blue]

We started recruiting a long time in advance, and we really thought about who the ideal candidate would be. Anthony's application stood out from the others because he has the twofold qualities we were looking for, combining gastronomic catering and agri-food expertise. Anthony's wealth of experience means he's cut out for the la belle-iloise adventure!

I also wanted someone who was humble enough, because in the restaurant business you often meet strong personalities. La belle-iloise has very demanding culinary standards, and when the tasting panel meets to taste the recipes being developed, you have to be able to listen to everyone's feedback, and sometimes criticism, and be able to make compromises to rework the recipes so that they are perfect.

So Anthony fitted the bill perfectly. So I called the management team and told them we had to meet him as soon as possible before he was taken on elsewhere!

[blue] Anthony, why did you choose la belle-iloise? [blue]

I fell in love with la belle-iloise because it's good, it's beautiful and it suited me best! Here I find real values, authentic products with a real culinary identity, and that's what I wanted. I've also discovered real people and a splendid region...

What's more, I've always had a particular fondness for fish. In the restaurants where I worked, the fish was delivered fresh and whole early in the morning, and I always insisted on filleting it because I loved it and wanted it to be perfect. Working with fish requires a lot of care and finesse - it's more fragile than meat and the flavours are more subtle, so it demands special attention...

François: We made the right choice on both sides, and 1 year later, it's confirmed!

Anthony, what is your favourite la belle-iloise recipe?

The Flaked Zanzibar tuna, because it's delicious and makes you really travel... I really like the Luzienne Sardines too, with Espelette chilli and Bayonne ham, François' first creation! My wife is from the Basque country and we often go there on holiday, so I know a lot about local flavours and the Luzienne recipe is really exceptional...

François: I agree, it's in my top 3 , along with Sardines with Olive oil and Timut pepper and Sardines with Olives from Nice, which have a finesse and refinement that I love!

What recipes have you worked on together? [blue]

François: When Anthony arrived, we were developing the 2 new plant-based recipes: Organic Kiwi Apple Seaweed confit and Coral lentil concassé, Seaweed and Curry. We worked hand in hand to finalise the balance of flavours and textures... Our first collaboration from A to Z will be released this autumn, and other new products developed together are still to come, but for the moment they're being kept secret!

[blue] François is a great traveller, and has drawn inspiration from his expeditions to invent new recipes... And Anthony, how do you find inspiration?

Every cook has his or her own method of finding inspiration... For me, it comes through action. If I have to start with a particular ingredient, a raw product, I'll test it immediately to analyse its taste and get inspired: action/reaction! I'm convinced that to make good food, you need good basic ingredients: authentic, simple ingredients that you can sublimate with precision and finesse.

[blue] François, what are your plans for retirement? [blue]

For the moment the page has yet to be written, but I know it's going to fill up! I'd like to enjoy the sea a bit more: as I've been working a lot, I haven't really done that. So I'm planning to take up wind surfing, canoe along the ria d'Etel, cycle along the coastal paths...

I'll also be tinkering around the house and looking after my 3 grandchildren, and, with my wife, we'll be continuing to travel: Crete to start with, then Lanzarote and why not Mauritius after that?

I also want to go into secondary schools to pass on my technical and culinary knowledge to young people and encourage them to want to learn... For some people, what we learn at school can seem very theoretical, like mathematics or physics, and I'd like to show them the practical applications in the kitchen: explain the different flavours, how to work with raw ingredients, cooking methods... while making them aware of the importance of eating well!

[blue] François, after 23 years and this great history woven with la belle-iloise, what is your best memory? [blue]

There's no shortage of good memories... The ones that stand out the most are when we've organised outside events. I'm thinking in particular of the first culinary event we organised for the Transat BPE in 2007, a yacht race between Belle-île-en-Mer and Marie-Galante. Belle-Île still remembers it, it was a real feat because it was on an island!

Before the transatlantic race, there was a week-long prologue with a race along the coast called the "Challenge la belle-iloise". The logistics involved were phenomenal, starting with transporting all the ingredients and equipment from Quiberon. For a whole week, we prepared several meals and buffets, with a multitude of recipes to prepare and a thousand petits fours! Luckily, a caterer from Belle-île lent me his premises and I got my friends from the Académie nationale de Cuisine to come and set up the show...

What I liked about La Belle-Ile was the freedom of action and the emphasis on creativity. We did completely different things from year to year, far from routine... I never got bored and I'd like to thank Caroline and Bernard Hilliet for trusting me and following me through the innovations and letting me create the recipes I liked!

[blue] Anthony, what do you remember most about working with François? [blue]

François is a very good listener and very open-minded. He was always available to answer my questions and talk to me. I really appreciated his peace of mind and the way he taught me canning techniques and the secrets of la belle-iloise products. He took his time and we went step by step, naturally and gently.

François: I'm very happy and proud to have recruited someone like Anthony. I'm retiring with peace of mind: la belle-iloise recipes are in good hands!