Setting The Scène Two-Michelin-starred chef Stéphanie Le Quellec reflects on her path to culinary stardom, from Top Chef France to France’s top kitchens. Words: Eleanor Howard • Photography: Courtesy of Sani Resort (unless otherwise stated)
I
want to deconstruct the concept of haute
George V in Paris. It was here that the 19-year-
cuisine,” says Stéphanie Le Quellec, as we
old’s eyes were opened to the world of luxury
take a seat at Over Water, her restaurant at
hotel dining.
Sani Resort in Halkidiki, where she will later
It was also at Le Cinq that she met and fell in
host a one-night-only dinner as part of the
love with her now husband David Le Quellec – a
resort’s annual gourmet festival. “In France,
fellow chef – solidifying the role that cooking
fine dining can be very traditional so I’m trying
would come to play in all aspects of her life. “I
to create something fun with my food.”
have always mixed family and business,” she
It’s a bold endeavour, one that the two-
states. “Having a husband in the same sector
Michelin-starred chef has been pursuing for
helps because he understands the demands of
the past two decades, having been enamoured
the job, he has the same patience. It can be
by dining from a young age. “Although there
hard to find a balance but when you really want
are no chefs in my family, I knew I wanted to
something, you can find a solution.”
be a chef since I was a little girl – we’ve always
After working together for four years in
had ‘culture de la table’,” she explains, citing
Paris, Le Quellec left to support the opening of
childhood memories of dining together in her
Philippe Jourdin’s restaurant at Terre Blanche,
hometown of Enghien-les-Bains.
a former Four Seasons property in Provence. In
At just 14, she committed to a career in the
the space of six years, she swiftly rose up the
industry by spending five years at hospitality
ranks, becoming executive chef of the resort at
management school before coming under
just 28 years old.
the tutelage of Philippe Legendre at three-
Despite already experiencing success, a lost
Michelin-starred Le Cinq at Four Seasons Hotel
bet in 2011 resulted in a stint on screen. “I had