His talent, his creativity, his rigor are still simmering. Sometimes over low heat. Sometimes at full boil. Jacques Maximin, starred chef from the Riviera, has not left the kitchen. He orchestrates them in a thousand and one ways.
From February 4 to 6, 2024, following Philippe Joannès, he will wear the hat of honorary president of Agecotel, a trade show dedicated to the hotel, catering and catering trades, organized by Nicexpo, at the Nice exhibition center (1).
More than a king of the kitchen, Jacques Maximin, pioneer of catering and entertainment in a former Nice theater on rue Sacha-Guitry, who took his inventiveness to the region and to France, is also a character. Outspoken.
Careful maintenance…
Why did you accept this sponsorship from Agecotel?
For several reasons. Alain Defils, director of Nicexpo, is a friend, I am from Nice in my own right and following Joël Robuchon and Philippe Joannès, it is for me an honor to occupy this position.
Agecotel, a main course in the culinary world?
This show allows suppliers and creators to have a showcase in front of potential customers. It’s the little brother of the great Parisian salons. Since 1993, its attendance has continued to increase and attracts exhibitors from everywhere, including Italy.
Does this event mark the culinary identity of the region?
Yes, in the sense that it attracts restaurateurs from the South, a very large quality region, whether it is the Alpes-Maritimes, Var, Bouches-du-Rhône. Big names like Arnaud Faye (La Chèvre d’Or in Eze), Virginie Basselot (Le Chantecler and La Rotonde au Negresco), Les Frères Tourteaux (Flaveur in Nice, rue Gubernatis), etc. follow one another. Nice is coming back to life…
A few brands dear to your taste buds?
At Davia, rue Grimaldi, where the chef is one of my former students as well as Alain Ducasse, Les Agitateurs, rue Bonaparte, Onice, rue Antoine-Gautier, Le Bistrot du Port, spearhead of Nice gastronomy.
What has become of you?
Since November 2020, I have been a culinary advisor and resident chef for the Ecole Ducasse in Meudon. I act as a mentor. I am there one week a month to pass on knowledge to young people. At the same time, I have been vice-president of the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France Cuisiniers competition since 2006. A competition chaired by… Alain Ducasse. Between him and me, it is an unfailing and unaccountable friendship.
Still passionate regarding cooking?
As long as I have the head and the legs, I respond and as long as I can give to young people, I do. For 3 days, at the beginning of December, I will also prepare a dinner at the Bacon restaurant in Cap d’Antibes.
What do you think of the growing number of cooking shows?
I did Top Chef. A sequence, where I was alone. This kind of show is good for cooking in general, but unfortunately, all the young people who participate in it get too caught up in the game. I’ve been cooking for 64 years and I’m still learning. I blame these sequences for making participants believe that by leaving such shows, everything has happened. Today, everyone who passed through there, with one or two exceptions, has disappeared.
What is good cooking for you?
I’ll tell you what the great chef Jean Delaveyne said: When it’s good, there’s nothing better! In cooking, there are trends, fashions, but they pass. For example, molecular cuisine. For 10 years, she sparked revolution. What’s left? Today, we are living in the era of Instagrammable cooking, but those who practice it have not yet rewritten the history of cooking. And Auguste Escoffier is still the undisputed leader. There is no recipe for good cooking. Good cooking is what you do with your heart and your hands. It can be a simple roast beef with mash. Good cooking is family-friendly.
1. Agecotel, from February 4 to 6, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., 6 p.m. on February 6), at the Nice exhibition center. Salon reserved for professionals upon registration via the website www.agecotel.com
