Photo : @Anthony Demierre

Talented chef Franck Pelux and his friend Sarah Benahmed, who is in charge of the dining room, are used to working hand in hand and have done so for many years. In an exclusive interview, The couple talks about the inspirations of their travels and the highlights of their journey together that led them to this new adventure: La Table du Lausanne Palace. Interview.

Grandes Tables Suisses: What is your first memory of cooking? 

Franck Pelux: I spent my entire childhood in the family restaurant. I literally grew up with pots and pans and it was during these moments with the family that I took my first steps in the kitchen.

GTS: Close your eyes and think of two dishes…
What is the dish of your childhood? 

FP: My mother’s blanquette de veau, my Proust’s madeleine.

What is your “pêché mignon” ? 

FP: Chocolate, I love it!

GTS: When did you know you wanted to become a chef? 

FP: I always knew that one day I would become a chef. It was always a vocation, something innate and logical for me. I never asked myself what else I wanted to do with my life.

GTS: Becoming a chef is a long road; can you tell us about five highlights of your apprenticeship phase that preceded your arrival at the Palace?   

FP: We had many highlights, but if I had to choose, I would say:   

• Our five seasons at the Vague d’Or in St Tropez. We arrived with Chef Arnaud Donckele in a house that was booming, that was going for 3 stars. It was an incredible experience.
• The opening of a restaurant in Singapore for Chef Laurent Peugeot. With Sarah, we were very young, and it was an experience that made us grow and that allowed us to discover foreign gastronomy.
• Our years in China, at Temple Restaurant Beijing. It was a terribly hard experience but also incredibly full of richness, sharing and encounters.
• The takeover of Le Crocodile in Strasbourg, and all the pressure that went with this adventure.
• Our arrival in Lausanne.

x GTS: What is the best advice you have received from a chef?   

FP: The best advice a chef could have given me is that you should always question yourself and keep working. It’s when you think you’re good that you go backwards. Success is a daily challenge.   

GTS: Who is your master thinker in terms of gastronomy and why?  

FP: The chefs I worked with, Yannick Alleno and Arnaud Donckele. They imbued me with their universe, their conception of cooking and their vision of gastronomy.

GTS: You have just started at the Palace with La Table, what did you want to bring to the place?  

FP: At La Table, we wanted to bring our experience and our love for this profession, while imposing our personality by creating a warm setting.  

GTS: If you had to describe the cuisine you prepare here in a few sentences, what would they be?

FP: It’s a local cuisine. We try to make the most of the richness of the Swiss terroir while adding our experiences, our desires, our travels, our loves, our favorites. It’s a travelling cuisine with local products.

GTS: What are your favourite dishes on the menu?   

FP: I don’t really have a favourite dish but if I had to name two, it would be :

Le Tourteau, souvenir of a Hong Kong alleyway because it is a dish that represents our history; and La Belle Sole Meunière de Bretagne because it is a reassuring dish.  

GTS: What cuisine inspires you?   

FP: The cuisine that inspires us is Asian cuisine as a whole. More particularly Japanese and Taiwanese cuisine. These are two universes that we like very much. We fell in love with this culture, the passion for the product, the perfection that they have.

GTS: You work with your partner, what is the role of each of you?  

FP: With Sarah, we are lucky enough to work hand in hand. Although we each have our own universe,we are a team and we work together. Whether it’s the choice of dishes on the menu or the creation of a setting for the dining room, we do everything together.  

GTS: How do you get your inspiration and where do you find it? 

FP: Most of our inspiration comes from home, with family and friends. Inspiration can come from anywhere – mainly from our memories, our travels, and the discovery of local products and passionate artisans in the region.   

Find out more about La Table du Lausanne Palace on their website: https://www.lausanne-palace.ch/en/restaurants-bars/la-table-du-lausanne-palace/le-restaurant/