Few seasoned chefs admit that cooking is not the most important thing for them, but Ronan Kervarrec is one of them. This 55-year-old Breton admits to this with a slight stumble over words, the legacy of a late diagnosis of dyslexia. But, on Monday, March 18, he was awarded a second star in the Michelin Guide 2024 for his restaurant Le Saison, located in the village of Saint-Grégoire, north of Rennes. His soft voice contrasted with his angular features, as if his face was carved from granite, which is further hardened by a salt-and-pepper beard. He has the dark, rimmed look of someone who doesn't cheat and works a little too hard.

"I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, but cooking isn't the main thing: What I want is to touch the hearts of those who come to my place," he confided. "I want to make people laugh, cry, like in the theater. To capture an emotion. It's my whole childhood that I try to translate into my dishes. You have to close your eyes to go for a walk with me along the water's edge."

The sea is the blue thread that links all the wonders on his table. The white-and-gold-toned dining room is dotted with lobster claws perched on pedestals, sea urchin shells and cloaked seashells, as if a child had wanted to elevate the nuggets gleaned from the beach to trophy status. And after an aperitif jostled by sea lettuce chips, each of his plates – spider crab plunged into a carcass broth; cockles splashed with sea spaghetti in a creamy beurre blanc – is an iodized madeleine that tells a little something of Kervarrec's story.

Kervarrec comes from a line of cooks. His grandmother and father ran a working-class restaurant turned inn, Le Toul Douar, in Hennebont. The establishment is now a hotel. Kervarrec, his older brother and younger sister sleep in the rooms, or with friends when it was full. The cuisine, very affordable, had a fine reputation. "Pieces montées, leg of lamb... My dad, who was a pastry chef, a cook and even a saucier at the George V in Paris, knew how to do it all. He was obviously, for me, the best chef in the world," smiled Kervarrec.

Of the children, he was the only one to follow his father into the kitchen to learn how to prepare nougatine and foie gras or master the delicate art of sauces. As a child, he also went with him to the port of Lorient, as early as 6 am, to buy langoustines (then at very affordable prices) and fish from small boats, or to Port-Louis to bring back pretty tuna that delighted the inn's customers.

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