Until the contest on January 31st, find here the portraits of the eight candidates running for the 55th edition of the ‘Taittinger’. Today meet Nicolas Tournay, representing Belgium.
Cooking was a childhood passion for Nicholas, whose mother was an excellent cook and father was a butcher.
He even considered becoming a butcher himself, but in the end he was more interested in transforming produce. Pork is actually one of his favourite meats, particularly the cheaper cuts such as pig cheek and trotters – less premium than fillet but much richer in flavour.
Nicholas’ other passion is gardening. He has his own vegetable patch and works a lot with his home- grown vegetables. He also has a whole network of producers in the Walloon area of Belgium who supply him with their production of vegetables throughout the seasons. Nicolas creates his dishes and cuisine in this vein at Le Mont-à-Gourmet restaurant, with seasonal produce shaping the menu. While training, he visited all the finest establishments in Belgium and encountered competitions including “Prosper Montagné” and the “International Catering Cup”.
Today he is also committed to shaping the future of Belgian gastronomy and is part of a small group of 23 budding chefs who have created a laboratory for experimenting with new ideas.
His dish will be bursting with all these various influences.
