Already full until the end of July, Sarah Mainguy's restaurant obviously enjoys a
Top Chef
effect
.
The young 25-year-old chef has won over new customers thanks to her “original” cuisine and a “nice” personality.
A celebrity not so easy to manage in addition to the many projects she is preparing.
A little girl pulls herself up on her tiptoes. “Mom, wait! I think I see her! Moments later, a man stands in front of the open door, takes out his cell phone despite his wife pulling him by the arm, and pushes the camera zoom fully. “We can't see very well but it's to send to my daughter,” he laughs. She prefers Mohamed, but she will still be happy! "
While the restaurants in the pedestrianized streets of downtown Nantes are finally coming back to life, the atmosphere is a bit special at Le Vacarme.
Because the head of this small "dining cellar" open for lunch and dinner is none other than Sarah Mainguy,
Top Chef
candidate
who bowed to Mohamed Cheikh during the season 12 finale on M6 on Wednesday evening.
“First or second place doesn't change much!
It was already huge to arrive here, launches the young woman of 25 years, with the same smile as in the show.
Today, I am especially very happy to start working again.
The customers are there, we are full until the end of July!
"
"A cuisine that is much more original than that of the other candidates"
While friends and regulars are present, the small terrace obviously enjoys a
Top Chef
effect
. Gaelle and Alex, who booked several weeks ago, were behind Sarah by "chauvinism" and hope to taste here "a cuisine much more original than that of the other candidates. "
As a result, there is plenty of choice between parsley ham and seaweed, duck hearts with anchovy and almond sauce or even miso mayonnaise and candied lemon eggs, which
20 Minutes
tasted (and enjoyed!).
Justine, 33, finally got a table on the second service at 8:30 p.m. (without a reservation), and fell in love with the asparagus with sunflower seed butter.
"Vegetarian and big fan of the show, it was the occasion or never", says this Lille, passing through Nantes for professional reasons.
"Nice", "creative" and "fun"
But beyond the kitchen, it is also the personality of the chef with the tattoos that appeals. "Nice", "creative", "fun" ... Whether they know her in person or just through a screen, customers all have a little note to judge the one who has swapped her purple cuffs for a navy blue apron, slipped on a White Tshirt.
If it is most often benevolent, this look could have been difficult to accept for the first concerned.
"I was a bit ostrich during the broadcast, I did not watch the episodes too much and I avoided reading too many comments," says Sarah, who remains behind her stove.
Notoriety is great, but it's also very strange.
When people judge, it is heavy.
But sometimes it's really fun… Yesterday, for example, we had a lady who came to eat and who was very moved.
She said she recognized herself in me, I was a little shocked!
"
Restaurant in Nantes, hotel in Paris
This "chrysalis which has hatched", as one of her friends describes it, however intends to meet this strong expectation. For next summer, Sarah Mainguy is working on the opening of a second establishment in Nantes, where she could “go much further” in her kitchen. She is preparing, for the start of the school year, a "four-handed menu" with the ex-candidate Pierre Chomet, with whom she has kept links, as with her former chef Paul Pairet. She also announces that she has just signed the summer card of a Parisian hotel (10th arrondissement) for which she will soon train the teams.
Not bad for a young woman who has often doubted herself.
"
Top Chef
allowed me to tell myself that I could take a step forward," observes the young woman.
Between the realistic dream and the unimaginable dream, I allow myself to think that it is possible!
"
Television
"Top Chef": "I took the show like a kick in the ass," says Nantes candidate Sarah Mainguy
Television
"Top Chef": "Hélène Darroze was essential", confides Mohamed, winner of season 12
Culture
M6
Television
Restaurant
Top chef
Nantes