La Cuisine cooking at SIAL Paris

Mehdi Abdelhakim obtained his scientific baccalauréat in 2003. This young musician and percussionist has been passionate about music since childhood. It only took a show on French TV's M6 channel - "Oui chef" with chef Cyril Lignac – for him fall in love with French gastronomy and start his adventure.
In 2004, he became a qualified catering technician and obtained a BTS (national professional qualification) in hotel and catering, specialising in cookery, in 2007. His apprenticeship began in his hometown of Oran where he grew up working in gourmet restaurants such as the 5-star ROYALE and Sheraton hotels.
In 2008, he joined one of the residences of the French Embassy in Oran. During this period, he catered to several high-class guests, gained experience in French cuisine, and worked with several Consuls General as Executive Chef at the French consulate. He also did an internship at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris.
In 2011, Mehdi Abdelhakim met the Michelin-starred chef from Marseille Michel Portos, who was impressed by the young chef and offered him the opportunity to hone his skills at the St James restaurant in Bouliac on the outskirts of Bordeaux. On his return to the French consulate, he became the best young chef of all the French consulates in Algeria. On leaving his post at the French consulate he became head chef at the Cosmopolite restaurant in Algiers.
He then returned to France to open a gourmet restaurant, Bouche à Oreilles, in Saintes, a small town near La Rochelle, his first experience of opening a restaurant in France. He took part in the twinning of Bordeaux with Oran, led by the former mayor of Bordeaux Alain Juppé, but also in several workshops including the SIAL in Paris.
The chef then decided to move to the city of Bordeaux. Recently, Mehdi Abdelhakim joined the Toques Françaises under the leadership of President Marie Sauce.
A luxury foie gras producer and organiser of dinners for high-profile personalities, the young creator's career now takes him to events in France and abroad, with culinary workshops and masterclasses in Bordeaux to share his love of gastronomy, but also into the field of culinary consultancy in Bordeaux. Many other promising projects are in the pipeline.

Although Fabien has always loved gastronomy, he discovered cooking later in life through his associate. He honed his skills in several restaurants in Paris, Australia, Switzerland, and the United States, where he discovered raw food and vegan cuisine. In 2014 he opened 42 Degrés, the first vegan raw-food restaurant in Paris.

42 degrés - 109 Rue du Faubourg Poissonnière, 75009 Paris, France

Born into a family of restaurant owners, Jean-Christian began learning the ropes from Eric Tabarly and Olivier de Kersauson before taking over the reins of Joséphine – Chez Dumonet in the 6th arrondissement of Paris.
Assisted by his son Adrien, he focuses on traditional French dishes.
He has also received the title of Maître Cuisinier de France.

Joséphine-Chez Dumonet – 117 Rue du Cherche Midi, 75006 Paris, France

Lucas began his career in 2008 at William Ledeuil before joining Alain Passard's team at the 3-Michelin-star restaurant L’Arpège. He continued to perfect his skills at Shangri-la, La Dame de Pic with Anne-Sophie Pic, and then with the Mavrommatis brothers before opening his own restaurant in 2014: UMA.
Its style can be situated somewhere between Japan and Peru and is built on a solid foundation of traditional French cuisine.
Uma is derived from the word umami, the fifth core flavour, which is a blend of acidic, sweet, savoury, and bitter notes. When these four flavours are well balanced, diners are left with a feeling of wanting more, discovering flavours that are new and yet feel familiar at the same time.
Uma means “horse” in Japanese, and “water” in Quechua, which is the most widely spoken dialect in Peru. Lucas likes to say that his cooking style is as fluid as water while also straddling both countries.
He strives to help his clients forget the outside world as soon as they set foot in his restaurant by offering them an unforgettable dining experience. Each dish has its own story and, for the chef, each dish is therefore unique not only through its flavours but also the person who prepares it.
Driven by a relentless ambition to evolve, Lucas closed his restaurant UMA and set off on a new adventure by accepting a position as Chef at the Fitzgerald restaurant in Paris.

Vesper – 81 Avenue Bosquet, 75007 Paris, France

Frédéric became Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) Primeur in 2011, he served as Chef internationally, particularly in the United States and Bermuda, but also in large French houses such as Ledoyen, the Plaza Athénée, Bernard Loiseau or Le Normandy to Deauville.
It is therefore with this experience as a chef that he decided to specialize in fruit and vegetables.
Between tradition and modernity, technicality and pleasure, it offers a sensory and creative journey through the seasons. Frédéric is also a specialist in plant sculpture and created the Academy of Fruits and Vegetables.
He very often works abroad and appears very regularly on French television channels but also elsewhere in the world.
He was raised to the rank of Knight of the National Order of Merit and Agricultural Merit.
European and French artistic champion on fruits and vegetables.