A severe blow for the chef, who defines himself as a cook and a fisherman, after the Covid years and the temporary closure of his establishment, which has just been crowned with a 3rd macaroon.

At the helm of an open gourmet restaurant and a marine bistro in La Rochelle (west), the quadra with the physique of a rugby player had long awaited the supreme recognition of Michelin.

In 2019, he had to settle for the newly created sustainable gastronomy prize for his defense of sustainable fishing and his fight against waste.

The honors had arrived the following year.

"His admirable cuisine is the extension of this commitment. A real bouquet of marine scents, a lively and powerful ode to the ocean. The finest seafood products are magnified with tenderness and a lot of imagination: starter to dessert is a delight", said the famous red guide.

"We tell our story, our culture, our passion, with this restaurant by the sea. That's why we don't work with meat. If we come to La Rochelle, a fishing town, with this view, it's there would be no consistency in serving a lamb or a sweetbread", he said, shortly after his coronation.

Introduced to fishing at the age of four by his grandfather, Christopher Coutanceau (born in 1978) still fishes regularly on his 6-meter semi-rapid.

The opportunity to become aware of the scarcity of resources of the sea and to go to the front.

Seasonal products

At the end of 2017, he was asked by the NGO Bloom, which fights for the protection of the oceans, to mobilize against electric fishing.

He contacts other chefs.

They will ultimately be some 350 international signatories.

And in January, the following year, the European Parliament votes against the development of this controversial practice, used mainly by Dutch fishermen.

In the kitchen, this depletion of the ocean has consequences, with fish or shellfish becoming scarce and others coming back, argues the chef.

(ARCHIVE) Chef Christophe Coutanceau in the kitchen of his restaurant, in La Rochelle, January 28, 2020 © XAVIER LEOTY / AFP/Archives

He only cooks seasonal seafood, caught locally and by line.

In his chic establishment, on Concurrence beach, you can eat sea urchins, crunchy pike roe, squid with black truffles, fennel in a salt and seaweed crust and his famous sardines from head to tail...

"The heads, we make a vinaigrette and a broth from them. Well, we don't do that to say: + we don't throw anything away +. We do that because at the taste level, there is a real utility. And then, that introduces people to other parts of the fish," he says.

The restaurant was opened by his father, Richard, in 1984. Two years later, he won two stars.

Christopher joined the establishment in 2002 after training with Michel Guérard, from whom he kept a moderate use of butter and cream, and Joël Robuchon.

The Coutanceau house, renamed after the chef, has had a makeover in recent years with decoration paying homage to the marine world: a ceiling inspired by the ocean floor and sand-colored walls.

In 2018, the chef opened a seaside bistro, "La yole de Chris", a stone's throw from his flagship, with a terrace overlooking the Atlantic.

© 2023 AFP