Benoît Vidal

Looking back to the beginning, fond memories that surface like bubbles, each containing nothing but significance, the pure truth of a specific taste, and the exactness of an emotion. In his grandmother’s kitchen and during his childhood in the Pyrenees, Benoît Vidal felt his first emotional connection to cooking. The Madeleine cakes he savored or the eggs cooked with sorrel leaves, which, behind their obvious simplicity, contain the essentials: the richness of the fatty yolk and the bitterness of the sorrel leaves, surprisingly well-balanced, a subtly refreshing yet profound mix, a foundational matrix that all by itself holds a certain sense of the absolute.

Quickly convinced that the culinary arts would be his calling, he pursued and built his career as a chef brick by brick with purpose and dedication. In Paris in 1992, he made his first forays into the at such restaurants as Goumard, Prunier, in the kitchens of Michel Trama and Michel Guérard, and then later as sous-chef to Régis Marcon, before finally becoming head chef in Divonne in 2003. Benoît Vidal learned to master the requisite techniques, observed his peers, and prepared the groundwork for his budding inspiration, lighting up the kitchens at Château de Divonne and Mas des Herbes Blanches – a true rising star.

In 2011, he rose up the ranks and moved to Val d’Isère, at 1950 meters elevation, where he took over the Atelier d’Edmond restaurant. The harsh mountain environment, the long and bitter winters filled with unforeseen challenges every day, and a seasonal cuisine that made little use the sun’s unlimited energy – none of this posed a problem. He acclimatized to the demands of his new home, harnessed the power of the mountains, and earned his first Michelin star in 2012, followed by a second in 2015- a meteoric rise to say the least.

“Once I got over the frustration of closing the kitchen just as the strawberry plants began to bloom, I realized there was something beautiful and wild about such a harsh environment,” he explains. The Atelier, located along the road leading to Col de l’Iséran Pass, which closes in winter, felt like one of the most remote corners of the planet. Such a world requires patience and humility. Here, listening, smelling, slowing down, and working with the passing time, which sometimes feels suspended, requires inventiveness, creativity, and a willingness to shake up one’s beliefs. “A bit like salmon, I learned to swim against the current to breathe.” Racing to the top, following his instinct, braving every storm, and always looking for the crack of light that transcends everything else.

After reaching such a high point in Val d’Isère, the descent can feel rather brutal. After spending twelve years defying the elements, Val d’Isère completely changed direction and took the man the down, although not out for the count. For his new release on life, he had to dig deep and call upon those people who believed in his future. Several followed him, including his wife, Marielle, and most of his team.

As luck would have it, he crossed paths with Daniel Baratier, who at the time was looking for someone to take over the reins of Auberge Sur les Bois, a promising sign of the future to come, and most of his team agreed to make the move. What an obvious choice. The leaves on the wallpaper reminded him of those drawn on his menus, the carpet felt so comforting, the house up the hill seemed so inviting, such spacious room throughout, and the simple elegance of the location was undeniable. The entire soul of the place expressed itself in a non-verbal dialog, connecting with the chef, who was completely engulfed in this new energy.

With the harsh mountain environment in their rearview mirror, they transitioned to the peaceful yet lively year-round nature of the lake. This new forum for expression opened the door to enchanting original dishes; while the menu was brand new, the cuisine remained firmly rooted in Benoît Vidal’s experience and approach. So much so that, just four months after opening, two Michelin stars shined once again overhead. For this minor miracle, everything fell perfectly into place: fertile ground for success and the pride of an entire team who exclaimed when opening the doors to the new restaurant, “We will earn two Michelin stars for you, Chef!”

Through the invisible yet powerful cross-breeze of creativity in the kitchen, Benoît Vidal’s cuisine is a form of instinctive alchemy always looking for the right balance between power and taste, one where the two almost clash in order to stand out, as well as a touch of his signature bitterness. The egg, as the nourishing centerpiece, remains a potent symbol and metaphor for the cycle of life. In it, everything resides and everything expresses itself. The yolk, salted, smoked, and then shredded like bottarga over a walnut shell acts as the prologue; the white, floating and snowcapped, acts as the epilogue. Here the poetry lies in what is left unsaid.

His dishes are imagined as journeys through a landscape, an explosion of flavors, colors, and emotions. From lakes to rivers, freshwater fish like pike, fera, and trout wriggle to the scrumptious notes of saffron, verbena, and meadowsweet. Just above the water’s surface, vegetables line the palate, with carrots and zucchini bursting in unison alongside the surprising taste of passion fruit. From his origins and roots, this culinary stroll transforms into an extraordinary medley where crawfish, frog legs, and arctic char whirl about. The alpine journey continues, mixing memorable flavors and pleasures from childhood: verbena, apricots, and fresh goat cheese dancing in a circle, raw milk, Chartreuse liqueur, and blackcurrant swinging together in harmony; sweetness on one side soothing the sharp taste of the other and vice versa. An intoxicating waltz, its tempo forever accelerating.

Working with local growers and producers, extolling the virtues of using every ingredient in its entirety, galvanizing the troops through an overdose of humanity, the ecosystem for this high-end restaurant has to be built like a flagpole of shared values.

Like a druid with his cauldrons, the Chef tells a story, his story, distilling inspiration drop by drop, revealing, at his discretion, a few deeply held secrets, like so many hidden treasures. Among the souvenirs, emerges “Soylent Green” made with yolk cooked under the sun and a saffron sauce poured over an ice cube to symbolize the annual snowmelt, a reference the cult film from the 1970s, one of the first to address global warming. Then there are the dried lemon zests he transforms into a black powder to sprinkle atop a soft meringue, evoking the lemon-tree-lined streets of his Mediterranean origins. And then there was light, bright and illuminating, revealing everything.