Best Chefs – Jacques & Laurent Pourcel, Le jardin des Sens Languedoc

Jacques Pourcel grew up in Agde (Hérault) with his twin brother, Laurent Pourcel. They already knew from an early age that they wanted to become chefs and therefore, at the age of 24, opened their first restaurant; Le Jardin des Sens in Montpellier, which later became a three Michelin-star restaurant. Born into the viticulture industry on the shores of the Mediterranean, and with a mother whose enthusiasm forregional cooking was never-ending, the Pourceltwins had their career path carved for them. Inspired by the south of France, their cuisine draws on both the land and the sea, playing with contrasts: hot and cold, smooth and crunchy, sweet and savoury, sweet and sour.

“Bras, Meneau, Gagnaire, Chapel and Trama were our masters and they started us on a journey that opened the doors of creative cuisine to us. We are passionate about what we do.In 1988, we opened Le Jardin des Sens in Montpellier with our friend Olivier Château and in 1998 it was awarded its third Michelin star in recognition of its elegant, creative Mediterranean cooking.”

After the opening of this successful restaurant, they decided it was time to go abroad and opened their next restaurant in Tokyo; restaurant Sens & Saveurs. But they didn’t stop here, a few years later they opened many more restaurants such as D’Sens in Bangkok, Maison Pourcel in Shanghai and Café Français in Sri Lanka.

Their desire for entrepreneurship and innovation extends far beyond the restaurants themselves. Cookbooks, “fast food” based on the idea of chic snacks, a cookery school, lounge bars and so much more is their world now. Passionate about exploring new culinary concepts and creating new dishes, they aim to share their findings and their passion for the cuisine of the Mediterranean coast. All their cooking is based on one guiding principle: olive oil, tomatoes and spices. Additionally, quality and simplicity are valued as they only works with local products of excellent quality.

“Simplicity and product quality are at the very heart of what we look for, and we rely on good producers, small farmers and exceptional fishermen and livestock farmers who offer us truly excellent ingredients”.

In 2000 they branched out onto the international stage. They now have restaurants in Bangkok, Tokyo, Geneva, Marrakech, Casablanca and Paris, but are also making theirmark in Singapore (at Raffle’s) and in Shanghai, with the first Relais Gourmand in China (Sens & Bund).

Awards

• 3 Michelin stars

Les Jardin de Sens

11, avenue Saint-Lazare

34000 Montpellier(Hérault)

France