Restaurant Director of the Year 2025: Nicolas Brossard nominated by Gault&Millau

Émilie Lesur | 11/18/24, 7:03 PM

Nicolas Brossard, of Christopher Coutanceau restaurant in La Rochelle, is the Guide Jaune's Restaurant Manager of the Year 2025.

Service quality is a key element in a restaurant's success. The floor manager ensures that every customer is satisfied. He or she must be organized, rigorous and able to make decisions quickly.

Nicolas Brossard of restaurant Christopher Coutanceau is the winner in the Restaurant Manager of the Year 2025 category. The verdict fell on Monday November 18 at the Trianon in Paris.

Nicolas Brossard, the art of entertaining and serving

Former head sommelier at the Louis XV, he was recruited by Richard and Maryse Coutanceau to breathe new life into the establishment. Originally from Blois, Nicolas was keen to move back to be close to his family. His career path, marked by training in Saumur and a spell with Alain Senderens, led him to become assistant manager. In 2007, he acquired the restaurant with Christopher Coutanceau, a bold move that strengthened their partnership. Today, he advocates high standards and flexibility in his profession.

A personal rigor that today leads him to the stage of the Gault&Millau 2025 trophy ceremony.

See Gault&Millau's review of Restaurant Christopher Coutanceau
See Nicolas Brossard's Instagram account

Nominees in the Director of the Year 2025 category

And the nominees in the Restaurant Manager of the Year category were... Passionate talents who combine expertise and conviviality to offer an unforgettable gastronomic experience.

Julien Freulon, of Le Chantecler restaurant - Le Negresco

Julien Freulon, a dynamic and determined young man, has turned his passion for gastronomy into an eloquent career path. Originally from Sablé-sur-Sarthe, he grew up in a family with a love of good food, which nurtured his interest in cooking. After obtaining a BEP in cookery and a BTS in table arts, he made his debut with Alain Ducasse at Abbaye de La Celle. This was followed by internships at the Plaza Athénée and a year in Canada to perfect his English. Today, he is the director of Le Chantecler at the Negresco hotel, working alongside chef Virginie Basselot, while continuing to enrich his expertise, particularly in sommellerie.

See the Gault&Millau review of Le Chantecler - Le Negresco
See Julien Freulon's Instagram account

Martine Decoret, from Maison Decoret

As a family, the Decorets have built up Maison Decoret, with Martine and Jacques at the helm, joined by their sons Alexis and Antoine. Originally from Lapalisse, they opened their first restaurant at the age of 30, before realizing their dream with a Second Empire chalet. Martine, involved in every aspect of the establishment, from sommellerie to herb harvesting, embodies excellence and hospitality.
▶ See Gault&Millau's review of Maison Decoret

Cédric Servain, Maison Lameloise restaurant

The director of Maison Lameloise, renowned for his professionalism, learned the importance of hard work from an early age. After a CAP at the CFA in Versailles and a BP in Caen, he took his first steps at Michel Bruneau, where he learned rigor. His career path led him to prestigious establishments such as La Grande Cascade and Le Martinez. For the last four years in Burgundy, working alongsideÉric Pras, he has managed the dining room with elegance. Passionate about his profession, he advocates human contact and philosophy in all circumstances, qualities that have earned him high recognition today.
▶ See Gault&Millau's review of Maison Lameloise

Through their passion and expertise, these room managers elevate the art of service to a level of excellence, reminding us that gastronomy is an experience to be lived to the full.

Many thanks to our partners Champagne Laurent-Perrier, Château Sainte-Marguerite-en-Provence, De Buyer, Elle & Vire Professionnel, Enodis, Kaviari and MAISON ATABLE for their support.

These news might interest you

Craftsmen & Know-How

Paris Coffee Show 2025 : le retour du salon des passionnés de café

Le rendez-vous des professionnels et amateurs de café fait son retour à Paris ! Organisé par Collectif Café, le Paris Coffee Show s’associe au Sirha Omnivore pour une nouvelle édition.

Hotels & Bed & Breakfast

Le chef pâtissier du Ritz, François Perret, quittera la place Vendôme après l’été

C’est dans un communiqué commun et sur le compte Instagram du chef que la grande annonce a été faite : François Perret quittera le Ritz fin août 2025.

Hotels & Bed & Breakfast

The Hoxton sort les transats : bienvenue à La Piscine

En plus de ses restaurants et bars, l’hôtel The Hoxton se dote d’une piscine pour un été frais au cœur de Paris.

Craftsmen & Know-How

Cette boutique française mise sur une épice que vous adorez

Les Français sont les troisièmes plus gros consommateurs de cette fameuse épice dans le monde. Et le fondateur de ce nouveau commerce l’a bien compris !

News & Events

Ewen Frin, 28, founder of Omanori, revolutionizes Breton gastronomybreton gastronomy by supplying it with fresh seaweed thanks to an innovative system of preservation in ponds. Based in Saint-Malo, Omanori meetsa growing demand from restaurateurs for a local, healthy and sustainablehealthy and sustainable.Fascinated by the ocean since his childhood in Brittany, Ewen Frin has long been an avid scuba diver anddiving and spearfishing. After studying business in Normandy and five yearsyears in Paris as a consultant, he decided to return to his roots. "In Brittany,i had an intimate knowledge of the richness of marine resources, particularly seaweedalgae," he confides. When I discovered that seafood cuisine in Paris was often limited toover-fished products like salmon or tuna, I wanted to promote local, virtuous species.he quickly became interested in seaweed, a natural product with gustatory and nutritional properties that are often underestimated.nutritional properties that are often underestimated. "Brittany is home to 700 speciesof seaweed, around thirty of which are authorized for consumption. Each has a unique flavor, texture and color. They are not widely promoted because they are not part of ourgastronomic heritage.Traditionally, seaweed is marketed either dehydrated or "fresh", but preserved in salt.but preserved in salt, which presents major drawbacks for chefs."Salt, which is used to preserve seaweed, requires it to be rinsed abundantly before cooking.cooking them, which spoils them, causes them to lose nutrients and alters their texture", explainsthe seaweed grower. This is where Omanori breaks new ground with a revolutionary principle.Thanks to a partnership with a local company specializing in algae cultivationfreshly harvested seaweed (such as sea lettuce, dulse and aonori) is preserved in tanksare preserved in basins, recreating their natural environment. This allows them to live for severalweeks after harvesting. First picked by hand during high tides on the foreshore, they are then cleaned and purified,they are then cleaned and purified in various basins. "This process enablestheir taste and nutritional properties intact, as if they had just been harvested.as if they had just been harvested, even outside high tide periods",Ewen Frin quickly won over prestigious restaurants such as Maison Vermer inSaint-Malo (2 toques), Ombelle in Dinard (2 toques) and Iodé in Vannes (3 toques).