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“A fireworks display of flavors! Gourmets, get ready!” When unveiling the program for the 11th edition of the Saint-Barth Gourmet Festival, the Tourism Committee set the tone. That of perpetuating the values ??specific to the event, made up of conviviality and authenticity. To ensure this, the CTTSB called upon eight great chefs, including six Michelin-starred chefs (read more below). Regulars at Le Gourmet, like Marcel Ravin, and newcomers, like Florian Favario or the only female chef at this edition, pastry chef Claire Heitzler. “But we are going to do a duet at Le Bagatelle with pastry chef Manon Santini,” adds the director of the Tourism Committee, Sabine Masseglia.
She explains, however, that it is not easy to attract female chefs. “There are more and more of them, but it is a profession that remains essentially male,” she notes. There are only a few women with Michelin stars. But it is not for lack of inviting them! Finally, our ratio of female chefs per establishment must be fairly consistent with what the profession is. "Another small drawback that the CTTSB sometimes encounters when issuing invitations: the fact that the Top Chef show is filmed at the same time as the Gourmet. Television competition that can be tough!
Like every year, each chef arrives in Saint-Barth with two commis. "Or a commis and a pastry chef," corrects Sabine Masseglia, who specifies: "Moreover, some chefs return to the Gourmet as commis!" Proof of the attractiveness of the event among professionals.
Festival regulars will find their usual appointments. “We are not going to reinvent something that works very well,” smiles Sabine Masseglia. But every year we try to include artists and local actors. Like fishermen and others. ”
The tables will soon be set and the island's gourmets are already expected by the chefs and their teams.
The opening ceremony of the Festival will take place, by invitation, on Tuesday, November 5 at the Sereno from 6:30 p.m.
An event open to all
The Festival tables are open to all. You still have to take care to reserve one in advance because it goes without saying that reservations go faster than pancakes at a family party. As the CTTSB reminds us, the Gourmet Festival « orchestrates a series of exclusive menus prepared by the Guest Chefs, in the kitchens of the partner hotels and restaurants, as well as competitions in which the public can participate. For four days, these 8 great Chefs will delight the island of Saint Barthélemy as ambassadors of French gastronomy and pastries.
Guest Chefs
A regular at the Festival, Marcel Ravin will officiate this year at the Rosewood Guanahani. Born in 1970 in Martinique, this two-star chef is now considered one of the most talented chefs of his generation. Since 2005, he has been in charge of the kitchens of the prestigious Monte Carlo Bay Hotel in Monaco.
A three-star chef, Dimitri Droisneau returns to Saint-Barth in 2024 to lead the kitchens of L'Esprit. Born in 1980 in Evreux, he is the chef of his own restaurant, La Villa Madie, in Cassis.
Also holding three stars, Fabien Ferré will be the guest of the Cheval Blanc. Aged 35 years old, he opened La Table du Castelet in 2023, where he is the chef.
Another three-star chef, since 2018, Christophe Bacquié. Meilleur Ouvrier de France, born in Corsica in 1972, he runs with his wife Alexandra a guest house in the Lubéron, Le Mas des Eydins, which was awarded two stars by the Michelin Guide last March. He will officiate at the Le Barthélemy hotel.
Finally, among the starred, Florian Favario. Born in 1982 in Annecy, he won his second star as chef of L’Auberge de Montmin, located a few kilometers from Lake Annecy. He will be the guest of the Sereno during the Festival.
Revealed to the general public in 2014 during the television show Top Chef, Julien Duboué has not yet had the honor of having been awarded a star. At 43, he has multiplied his experiences (opening a bakery with an all-you-can-eat buffet in Paris in 2018, launching a "street food" concept in 2019, also in Paris). He will be a guest at Nikki Beach.
Among all these men, Claire Heitzler will be the only female representative. A pastry chef, she will share her knowledge at Bagatelle during the Festival. Born in 1978 in Alsace, she won the title of best pastry chef in her region in 1996, at only 19 years old. She continued her apprenticeship until taking over the reins of the pastry shop at the Beige Alain Ducasse restaurant in Tokyo (Japan). as well as in Dubai for the Park Hyatt hotel. After being named pastry chef of the year by Gault et Millau in 2015, she became "chef of sweet creation" at Ladurée.
At Bagatelle, she will be accompanied by Louis Gachet. At 32, he received the title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France in 2023 and his first Michelin star last March for his work as head chef at the Couvent des Minimes in Mane, in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, in the middle of a five-star Relais et Châteaux hotel. He is therefore the sixth starred chef of this 11th Gourmet Festival.
Every day has its own competition or "master class"
• Wednesday, November 6
- At 12:30 p.m. at la Cantina, "master class" Monkey 47.
- From 3 to 4 pm, "master class"
great wines of France in Barthélemy.
- From 7 to 8:30 pm: Caviar Sturia at Foodland.
• Thursday, November 7
- At 7 pm, "master class" Monkey 47 at Rosewood Guanahani.
- From 8:30 to 11:30 pm, Saint-Barth bartender contest at Rosewood Guanahani.
- From 11:30 to 1 am, After party at Rosewood Guanahani.
• Friday, November 8
From 3 to 4 p.m., "master class" on great French wines at Cheval Blanc.
• Saturday, November 9
- 4 p.m., Petites Toques competition at Barthélemy (register with the CTTSB)
- 7 p.m., waiters' race starting from the Cantina (register on site).
• Sunday, November 10
From 7 to 10 a.m., St-Barth Chef Challenge competition at Bonito, in partnership with
the Fisheries Committee. Competitors will have to work on, in particular,
rockfish.
