Maxime Chenet:
a love of cooking, passed down from father to son
Maxime earned a great deal alongside his father, Serge. Together, they formed a close and complementary duo for many years.
Today, Maxime and his team continue to carry this story forward each day. It is a story of a deep love for cuisine at its finest, combining the flavor of exceptional products, the rigor of perfectly executed work, and the talent to revisit classic dishes while adding his own personal touch.
Maxime Chenet:
an impressive career
Born in Avignon on 20 December 1985, it’s no surprise that MaximeChenet ended up in the kitchen!
Watching his father work from a young age, he soon came to see a culinary career as an inevitability.
He excelled at school, successfully passing his technical baccalaureate at Avignon’s hotel management school at the age of 16 and his BTS qualification in hotel marketing management at the age of 19. Internships at prestigious restaurants followed: Michel Troisgros in Roanne (3 Michelin stars), the Pourcel brothers' restaurant Le Jardin des Sens in Montpellier (3 Michelin stars), L’Hôtel de Paris in Monte-Carlo and Le Cagnard in Cagnes-sur-Mer (1 Michelin star). A quick learner, he then decided to study for a vocational qualification in cooking.
He began his career alongside his father at Le Prieuré, followed by stints at other renowned restaurants: Les Airelles in Courchevel and the Raimbault brothers' restaurant L’Oasis in Mandelieu-la-Napoule (2 Michelin stars). He then worked with Jean-Pierre Jacob as the chef de partie at Le Bateau Ivre in Courchevel (2 Michelin stars) and at Ombremont in Le Bourget-du-Lac (2 Michelin stars).
When his father opened his restaurant Entre Vigne et Garrigue, Maxime decided to work with him: together, the pair earned a Michelin star in just eight months. Now at the head of Maison Chenet, Maxime continues the culinary adventure, enriching it with his own personal signature. Guided by family values, shaped by his years working alongside his father and in various renowned establishments, he is resolutely focused on the future, always striving to progress and offer the very best to the guests of the Maison.
Serge Chenet,
Meilleur Ouvrier de France
Originally from the department of Côtes d’Armor, Serge Chenet has enjoyed an impressive career, having spent 26 years at several prestigious and Michelin-starred restaurants, from Switzerland to Courchevel and Juan Les Pins. He’s also been given some of the most prestigious awards, including the title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France. Serge Chenet has worked alongside some of the industry’s biggest names, including Pierre Troisgros, Georges Blanc, Joël Robuchon, Alain Ducasse and Marc Meneau, and has twice been given a Michelin star, firstly as a chef in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon and a second as a chef at the Château in Rochegude.
Having celebrated his fiftieth birthday, he decided to embark on a new adventure, opening Entre Vigne et Garrigue in May 2008. He works here with his wife Maryse, who is the creative force behind the property’s guest rooms and who works front of house at the restaurant, and his son Maxime, a natural in the kitchen. Incredibly close, the two chefs were awarded a Michelin star in 2009 after just eight months.
Since then, both men have done their utmost to live up to this incredible honour.
Serge Chenet is also a member of two prestigious professional groups, Maîtres Cuisiniers de France and the Académie Culinaire de France, and is the President of Gard aux Chefs.
In his free time, Serge Chenet is a keen amateur painter. His work is displayed on the restaurant’s walls: inspired by the Expressionist movement, he creates explosions of strong and subtle colours on large canvases.
Serge has handed over the keys of the Maison to Maxime. Calm and confident, he knows that with his son, the family estate still has many beautiful chapters to write.
