Franck Giovannini crowned Gault Millau Chef of the Year
Giovannini took the helm of the famous restaurant after the untimely death of Benoît Violier in January 2016.
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Franck Giovannini, chef of the famed Hôtel de Ville in Crissier, western Switzerland, has been named Chef of the Year 2018 by the Swiss edition of the respected French restaurant guide Gault Millau.
“Franck Giovannini could simplify his life and rest on the laurels of the past, but on the contrary, he is working hard to remain on the road to success, and is doing it with panache,” said Gault Millau editor-in-chief Urs Heller in a statement on Monday.
After Frédy Girardet, Philippe Rochat and Benoît Violier, Giovannini is the fourth chef of the high-end Swiss restaurant to be named Chef of the Year by Gault Millau Switzerland.
The Swiss chef’s emphasis on local products and high-quality vegetarian dishes set him apart from the rest and helped him win the title. Already last year, he had earned the restaurant 19 points from Gault Millau Switzerland out of a possible 20.
The 43-year-old Giovannini leads an “exceptional brigade of 22 cooks,” Gault Millau added. Along with the restaurant boss Brigitte Violier, he leads with “brio”.
Giovannini is also the former right-hand man of Benoît Violier, who won the Gault Millau prize in 2013 but who died tragically in January of 2016.
Another winner of the day was Frenchwoman Virginie Basselot, head of the La Réserve restaurants near Geneva, who emerged as the number one female chef of the year.
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