Master Chef of France
Master Chef of France Already as a young boy, Christian Etienne was sure he would become a cook. He longed to create that spark of joy that he saw coming from the kitchens of his mother and grandmother, where, during the big family meals, the cooks put all their love into the preparation of the sun-filled specialties of Provence. So, after completing his apprenticeship in his native region, he traveled north to Paris, city where all the great cooks of France learn their trade.
At the Ritz, then at the Intercontinental, Christian Etienne began honing his skills as cooker's help. He returned to the Ritz as sous-chef, where he broadened and deepened his knowledge, but he longed to return to his beloved Provence, and so he shortly went home to Avignon and opened his first restaurant where he shared his chef's expertise, magnifying the wealth of southern French cuisine.
Within the space of a few years, his talent attracted the local folk, as well as connoisseurs passing through. He obtained his first star in the famous Michelin guide, and became a "Maître Cuisinier de France" - a Master Chef of France - a select group of recognized French chefs. It was at that point that he decided to offer to his guests one of the most beautiful palaces in Avignon. He installed his new restaurant in a historic monument next to the famous Palace of the Popes, a palace that had housed many historic personalities, a place of beauty quite fitting to his own warm welcome.
A man of passion
Christian Etienne is a man of strong passions - a passion for cooking, of course, but also a passion for life, and a passion for Provence. With his warm regional accent, he will tell you of the traditions of his region, he will introduce you to its specialties. He talks of them during his many trips the world over where he promotes the Provençal traditions. From Caracas to Johannesburg, from New York and Quebec to Japan, Christian Etienne never fails to show off Provence and the region's famous specialties.
This passion is all wrapped in kindness, the genuine kind, that comes from the heart. The kind that comes out through a warm smile and a natural simplicity. The kind that makes you a feel like a friend in this beautiful house where he invites you to discover his cooking full of creativity.
Christian Etienne is happy to share his passions, and since he is open and generous, he offers up his secrets - not all of them of course, he keeps some for those who come to his restaurant's door and sit at his table. But for all those who are too far away, he has written several books to offer to you a selection of his traditional recipes or of those he has created.
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