It’s a young chef’s dream come true.“While receiving her first star in the Michelin Guide this Tuesday, Mallory Gabsi, a 26-year-old from Ixello discovered in Top Boss, wins the Holy Grail of gastronomy. “I’m not going to say that I expected it a bit because it’s pretentious to say that but I clearly hoped to have it“, explains the chef of the restaurant “Mallory Gabsi” opened just a year ago in Paris.
Mallory Gabsi will open a pop-up restaurant this summer in France
For the young Belgian, this award is the result of teamwork.”relentless“. “Often only the chef’s name is highlighted, but this star also belongs to all the people who work with me. We’ve worked hard since the restaurant opened a year ago to get it, so I think it’s deserved.“
Does the star necessarily imply an increase in the price of your dishes in the restaurant?
“We have increased them a little, yes. Because the Michelin Guide has, with this star, validated the work done, the hours spent in the kitchen. When customers come to eat at the restaurant, they spend two hours at the table. But, behind what we offer, there are 17 or 18 hours of work. If today, I want to serve good products, I have to put the price, so the customers have to put it too. But the increase is not not excessive. The idea is not to rip people off either. I don’t want them leaving the restaurant to have a single thought regarding the money spent to come and taste the dishes.”
Does having a star add extra pressure, that of always keeping up the pace?
“Yes, of course. It puts me on a kind of alert. I say to myself: ‘ Be careful, you have it but you can lose it too !’ Every year, the stars are put back on the table.”
Some great chefs such as Michel Sarran, ex-juror of Top Chef, and Guy Savoy each lost a star this year. Isn’t it sometimes better not to have a star so as not to suffer the loss of this distinction?
“Today, everyone talks regarding those who have been awarded, but I have the impression that those who have lost their star almost make more noise. I have nothing to say regarding their cuisine, I don’t I don’t have to judge them, nor to judge the decision rendered. I think that Michel Sarran like Guy Savoy had the guts to keep these stars for many years. You have to know how to do it! Guy Savoy’s restaurant has, was voted the best restaurant in the world for the sixth consecutive year. He is a man of great merit. His star, he may recover it. Nothing is lost forever.”
You also received the Young Chef of the Year award. Is it not easy today to embark on the world of high gastronomy at such a young age?
“It’s not easy, and even less so as a Belgian in Paris. There’s a lot of jealousy, we’re not going to lie to each other. But, I don’t listen to criticism. I remain humble and I keep my feet on the ground. I I still have a lot to learn and I love it!”
Several chefs who participated in Top Boss are now starred. Do you think there is a causal link?
“No, I don’t think so. You don’t have the star because you did Top Chef. We don’t have more luck than anyone else. On the other hand, we may be more highlighted and our reward may make more noise than another. But the star, it is only the work that brings it.”
The new season of Top Boss has been broadcast since last Monday on RTL-TVI. Do you follow her?
“This year, I’m not aware of anything, simply because I didn’t have time to watch like in previous years. I met César (the Belgian candidate, Ed.) once but I can’t not say that I know him well.”
You who made it to the semi-finals of the competition, what advice might you give to new candidates?
“I advise them to be themselves and to cook well.”
Projects for the good cause and a little “crazy”
Now residing in Paris, five minutes from his restaurant, Mallory Gabsi spends his life between the French capital and Brussels, where he returns regularly for one or another project.
On March 20 at Tour & Taxis (more info on www.happycurien.be), the chef will cook for a good cause at the “Bulles de Joie” gala evening organized by Happycurien, a Brussels association that promotes inclusiveness and seeks to integrate people with mental disabilities into the world of work. “A year and a half ago, I had a real crush on this association and for what it stands for”, confides the young man who will prepare a menu there with Arnaud Delvenne, another outstanding Belgian candidate for Top Chef. , while Eric Boschman will take care of the wines.
Once the action is over, the Belgian will join Philippe Etchebest on the set of Cauchemar en cuisine, a program he joined in 2021. Will they come and restore order to Belgian restaurateurs? “A lot of restaurants have applied to participate in the show, but a lot of criteria, such as the brightness of the place, for example, come into play and sometimes make it impossible to film within the establishment. So we had to make choices. At this stage, we are still looking for Belgian restaurateurs but I’m sure it will come,” he said.
Exclusively, Mallory Gabsi also informs us of the opening this summer of an ephemeral restaurant “Mallory Gabsi”. This will open its doors for two months in the Reims region. “It’s a top-of-the-range and a little crazy project that I’m launching with a beautiful champagne house, explains the chef. We’re going to find my cooking there but in a little more simplified way. I want the dishes to remain more accessible financially than those of the restaurant.”
