Best Chefs – Jean-Marc Banzo, Clos de la Violette

At 13, he worked as a diver in a small restaurant in Vaison-la-Romaine and discovered the profession of chef.

From 1971 to 1973 , he studied at the Grenoble hotel school and in 1974 began his apprenticeship in the kitchens of the most famous restaurants in France. He successively worked at the restaurant La Mère Guy Lyon, Les Santons in Grimaud and Pierre Hiély in Avignon, all classified 2 Michelin stars.

He was appointed chef for a few months at the Hôtellerie du Beffroi in Vaison-la-Romaine and after an internship at Troisgros in Roanne , he opened his first restaurant in Aix-en-Provence , Les Caves Henri IV , at age 24, on October 15, 1979 .

In March 1983 he received his first star at 28 and became the youngest Michelin-starred chef in France.

In 1986, he moved and installed his kitchens in a villa on the outskirts of Aix at the foot of Mount Sainte-Victoire, and created Le Clos de la Violette, which won 2 stars in the Michelin guide in 1999.

In 2007 he opened his second restaurant in Cassis, La Villa Madie, 1 star in the Michelin guide.

In 2014, he transferred the Clos de la Violette to the Renaissance hotel Aix-en-Provence.

Eager to pass on his know-how and to support new projects around catering, Jean-Marc Banzo is now a culinary consultant; he advises both on the design and organization of a kitchen as on the management of teams and the art of preparing dishes.

Culinary style

“Each of my recipes is an imagination whose inspirations are linked to the memory of my mother’s dishes and the perception of the flavors of the Provençal region that I try to faithfully transcribe. I have the feeling of not being the one who upsets according to the principles of a “new” cuisine characterized today by molecular, but on the contrary the one who is still able to imagine in a definition that we thought was totally visited. “

Awards

In 2005, he received the bronze medal for French tourism.

He was crowned Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters on the appointment of the Minister of Culture in 2006 and Knight in the Order of the Legion of Honor on appointment of the Minister of Tourism, Handicrafts and SMEs in 2009.