The Head Chef at the Meurice has been awarded a third star, the Michelin Guide’s highest honour
February 2007 - Le Meurice, one of Paris’ grandest hotels, is thrilled to announce that head Chef Yannick Alléno, has been awarded three Michelin stars. Since Alléno’s arrival at the hotel in late 2003, food critics and diners have showered him with accolades and the fabled dining-room of the glorious Le Meurice, one of the Dorchester Collection, has gone from strength to strength. After only six months, he achieved a two Michelin star rating. Most recently, Alléno was awarded the title of “espoir”, a new Michelin designation for chefs on their way to a glittering third star. Now, at just 39, Yannick Alléno has received the ultimate accolade and entered the elite circle of the world’s greatest chefs, an honour that is the crowning glory of a palace head chef’s career.
This exciting news also brings the Dorchester Collection to the very top of the culinary tree as it is now the only hotel group in the world with 6 Michelin stars in one city (Alain Ducasse at the Plaza Athénée in Paris also holds 3 Michelin Stars).
Alléno took the reins of Le Meurice’s restaurant in 2003 and it was at this palace, which he calls “the dream setting in which to exercise my passion”, that he was to make his expertise truly take flight. Heading a team of 74 staff, the ambitious chef’s mission to re-invent gastronomic cuisine has led the restaurant to the summit of its reputation.
On receiving his third star, Yannick Alléno says: “This third star was my dream! It is the result of 23 years of work, passion and a desire to be the best at all times. Yet it also marks the beginning of a new life. This third star is a tremendous responsibility and it is now up to me to make it shine. More than ever, I want to progress and perfect my work in order to offer our clients real consistency and a true gastronomic signature. With my team at Le Meurice, I want to affirm this wish through a cuisine that is forever more rigorous, finer, and more creative, and to pass on this quest for excellence in order to represent and promote French gastronomy.”
Yannick Alléno was elected "Best Chef of the year" in 2008!
Yannick Alléno
The Steady Progression of a Parisian Career
1984: Graduation from Santos Dumont, a Saint-Cloud high school
1986: Pastry Apprentice
Lutetia Hotel: Head Chef - Jacky Freon
1987: Commis de Cuisine
Royal Monceau Hotel: Head Chef - Gabriel Biscay
1990: Demi-Chef then Chef de Partie
Sofitel Sevres Hotel: Head Chef - Roland Durand then Martial Henguehard
1992: Chef de Partie
Le Meurice: Head Chef - Marc Marchand
1994: Chef Adjoint
Drouant Restaurant: Head Chef - Louis Grondard (MOF 1979)
1999: Chef de Cuisine
Scribe Hotel
Competitions and Distinctions
1994: Auguste Escoffier International Prize, Nice, 1st Place
1999: Paul Bocuse Trophy, Lyon
Vice Champion du Monde de Cuisine (Bocuse d'Argent)
2007: National Order of Merit
Secretary General of the Academy of Bocuse d'Or Award Winners
Maître Cuisinier de France