Two young chefs,

Julien GLEIZE and Cyril FRESSAC

have been at the Domaine du Colombier since 2006.

Julien GLEIZE

34 years old, hails from the region, from Valreas, where his parents own a hotel and restaurant. When he was 15 he attended Avignon Hotel Management School and then went on to train at a number of restaurants in the region: Restaurant La Beaugraviere in Mondragon with Guy JULIEN known for his truffles, Restaurant Hiely Huccullus in Avignon (2 stars in the Guide Michelin). Julien GLEIZE also worked at the Oasis Restaurant in La Napoule for 2 years, and then at the Hôtel du Golf in Crans Montana in Switzerland.

It was when he started working for the POURCEL brothers in Le Jardin des Sens in Montpellier that Julien GLEIZE began moving up the ranks. After spending one year as a pastry chef and then working as a commis chef in the kitchens, he advanced 10 years later to chef de cuisine. His adventure with the POURCEL brothers continued when he was chef de cuisine at La Maison Blanche in Paris for nearly two years. Then Julien GLEIZE returned to his native region as chef de cuisine in a 4-star Hotel Restaurant in Drôme-Provençale where he was to meet Cyril FRESSAC.

Cyril FRESSAC

Cyril FRESSAC. 32 years old, is from Vendargues, a tiny village close to Montpellier. The grandson of a winegrower, he went to Montpellier Hotel Management School and was then apprenticed to the Cetus in Montpellier with Eric Pansu, Paul Bocuse’s chef de cuisine and Best French Craftsman (MOF) award winner. Cyril FRESSAC joined La Terrasse du Soleil in Ceret and then went to work for the POURCEL brothers at the Jardin des Sens in 1994 as a pastry chef. 5 years later he was to become their head pastry chef when the restaurant won its third Michelin star.  

This year Julien GLEIZE and Cyril FRESSAC were awarded the prize for young restaurateurs who have opened their own restaurant at the Tremplin Le Chef 2006 organised by Le Chef magazine.