But a return to Jersey – the Island where he met his wife – marks one of the biggest challenges of the Frenchman’s career.
A month ago he took on the role of executive chef at Grand Jersey, taking over from Richard Allen, who has moved to the Orangery restaurant at Rockliffe Hall Hotel in Country Durham.
Not only does the former executive chef at the L’Horizon Hotel have big shoes to fill, but he also has the added challenge of retaining the Michelin star that has been held by the hotel’s Tassili restaurant since 2011.
And he plans to do that with a completely new team in the kitchen, at the same time as reinvigorating the rest of the hotel’s food offering and having been out of the fine dining business for five years.
‘Obviously my aim is to keep the Michelin star, it is huge,’ he said. ‘But there are also many challenges to do in the hotel as well with the food.
‘My aim is to have a good time in the kitchen, and it is all about the team – without a good brigade I am nothing, really.’
Nicolas is currently recruiting the team that he hopes will help him achieve his aims, with many of the previous members of kitchen staff having left with Richard or moved on to new pastures.
The Frenchman is excited about the clean slate, which also includes a new restaurant manager for Tassili and a completely new menu.
‘It is a fresh start, new team and there is a lot to do,’ he said.
Nicolas (38) was inspired to pursue a career in the kitchen by his Spanish grandmother, who ran a restaurant in Paris.
‘My grandmother was a good chef, she had her own very traditional restaurant where she would cook food for truck drivers,’ he said. ‘It was very simple food but very tasty and I think I got it from her.’
At the age of 14 he moved from his home near Marseille to near Nice to attend culinary school. He was also keen to ensure he had a well-rounded experience of the industry, which included studying management and front of house.
After five years of studying he moved to Florida to work for Chefs de France at the Restaurant Gastronomique de Monsieur Paul Bocuse in Orlando.
After a year he moved to Switzerland to work in the five-star Movenpick Hotel in Geneva where he was responsible for banqueting, serving up to 1,000 guests in a single sitting.
His next stop was New Zealand and the Rice Restaurant in Auckland, where he worked alongside head chef Amanda Morris, who was named the most innovative New Zealand Chef in 2004.
From there he moved to Jersey and to the L’Horizon, where he fell in love not only with his Irish-born wife but with the Island.
‘Jersey wasn’t my first choice but I gave it a shot and I really enjoyed it,’ he said. ‘I enjoyed the company and the place.’
Six-and-a-half years later Nicolas returned to the south of France, to a small village near Marseille, and set up his own business running a delicatessen and outside catering business with his wife.
But Jersey always had a fond place in their hearts and when the opportunity came to return to the Island five years – and two children – later, Nicolas could not resist.
‘Don’t get me wrong, the weather is amazing there and the business was going well,’ he said. ‘But we preferred Jersey. The people are a lot more friendly than you get in France and it was hard with two children.
‘We always missed Jersey.’
As executive chef, Nicolas is not just responsible for Tassili but for everything foodie at Grand Jersey, from afternoon teas and room service to functions and Victorias restaurant.
And he has grand plans to take all of it to a new level, particularly Victorias which he is hoping to make a trendy destination for local diners as much as hotel guests.
‘I want to make it a restaurant that Jersey people talk about,’ he said.
Nicolas describes his cooking style as typically French with a ‘twist of modern’. He is particularly passionate about ensuring that the products used are respected and the main elements are not over powered.
‘Some restaurants you go to you don’t even taste the crab in a crab dish,’ he said. ‘But, for example, we have a lobster dish and although there is garnish to enhance it the lobster is the important bit.
‘It is not even me that is the star, it is the lobster.’
He is inspired by Michel Bras, the three Michelin-starred chef from Aveyron, France, Jean-François Piège, the two Michelin-starred chef from Paris, and the famous Raymond Blanc – whose kitchen at the Oxfordshire restaurant Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons he was lucky enough to recently spend two weeks in to develop his skills.
Fresh from that experience and with a new team slowly being pieced together, Nicolas is optimistic about the future. In order to hold on to the Michelin star Tassili will need to be inspected at least three times before September.
And although those inspections are always done in secret Nicolas suspects that at least one has already taken place.
Asked about the task ahead, the Frenchman said he knows it will be a tough one. But it is also a journey he is excited about and relishing.
‘It is going to be an amazing challenge but when we get all the team in place it will be good – and I think it is possible,’ he said.
Treat your mum this Mother’s Day to this tasty homemade treat from the Waitrose recipe collection. More than 5,000 recipes can be found at www.waitrose.com/recipes.
Ingredients:
- 125g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for buttering
- 397g can Carnation Caramel
- 2 medium eggs
- 225g self-raising flour, sifted
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 300g Bramley apples, peeled, cored and diced
- 2 tbsp essential semi-skimmed milk
- 1 tbsp demerara sugar
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 150ºC, gas mark 3. Place the butter with 225g of the caramel in a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until well combined. Then beat in the eggs one at a time.
2. Sift over the flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Fold together, then gently stir in the apple and the milk.
3. Lightly butter and base-line a 20cm spring-form cake tin. Spoon in the cake mix, smooth the top and scatter with the demerara sugar. Bake for 1 hour, or until risen and lightly golden on top.
4. Remove the cake from the tin and place on a serving plate. Warm the rest of the caramel in a small saucepan over a low heat until pourable, then drizzle over the top of the cake. Serve, cut into wedges, with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream, or simply with a cup of tea.
Win a luxury Fresh Fish Company hamper for Mothers Day
Enter our competition to be in with a chance of treating your mum this Mother’s Day with a luxury hamper from the Fresh Fish Company.
We have a hamper worth £45 to give away packed full of goodies like hand-dressed crab, smoked salmon, patés, prawns, chutney, biscuits and a Fresh Fish Company tea towel.
To be in with a chance of winning answer the question below. The winner will be chosen at random from the correct entries and contacted next week to collect their prize from the company’s shop at La Collette in time for Mother’s Day.
The hampers can also be ordered from the Fresh Fish Company until three days before Mother’s Day.
The recent spring tides helped to put a prized local delicacy back on the menu, if only for a few days at least. But what was it that the Fresh Fish Company managed to sell 360 of in four days?
A: Spider crabs
B: Ormers
C: Squid
Email your answer to features@jerseyeveningpost.com with Fresh Fish Company competition in the subject line. Please include a telephone number so we can contact you if you win. The closing date for entries is Tuesday 10 March. The winner will be contacted directly and announced on the food page the following week.
