On Wednesday 24 January, the chef from the double Michelin-starred restaurant Ma Langue Sourit is inviting the country’s “young hopes” to join him for an evening of 6-handed cooking.
Joining him will be Baptiste Heugens from Equilibrium and Matthieu Van Wetteren from Apdikt.
Enthusiasm! That will be the leitmotif of this unique dinner. After all, if 4-handed meals have become almost commonplace in the Grand Duchy, then 6-handed dinners should certainly have been on the cards! But in the end it seems quite natural.
Passing on
We already know about 2-star chef Cyril Molard’s love of passing on his expertise. We also know his admiration for young up-and-coming chefs. Last year, at the Michelin star award ceremony for the Grand Duchy, the chef of Ma Langue Sourit deplored certain shortcomings in the awards. Mathieu Van Wetteren’s restaurant was one of them: “A restaurant like Apdikt would have been more than welcome here…” he lamented.
Spotlighting
If it’s time to showcase young talent, then there’s no issues for Cyril Molard. For this reason, the chef with 1,000 projects has come up with a new idea: he is going to invite those he believes in to create an exclusive dinner alongside him.
Mutual admiration
“Cyril called us in December and suggested this 6-hands”, says a delighted Baptiste Heugens, Gault&Millau Young Chef of the Year 2020, who opened his own restaurant, Equilibrium, at the end of 2022. He and Chef Molard know each other well, and their respect is mutual: “Cyril is a great chef in every way. Both professionally and personally. I’m 32 years old and I’ve opened my own restaurant. It’s not an easy job. But he’s always been there when things have gone wrong. He gives me a lot of strength”, confides the owner of Equilibrium.
Matthieu Van Wetteren, a passionate advocate of traditional virtues like mutual respect amongst peers, regards this endeavor as a “significant challenge.” He is extremely proud of the enduring appreciation he has garnered from Cyril Molard, his “guiding force” and “beacon of inspiration.” “The experience will be especially thrilling because we will be joining forces to compose dishes, moving beyond individual efforts to a harmonious fusion of our culinary styles,” elaborates the “hyper-perfectionist” head of Apdikt.
The same commitment
The idea for this dinner came from an observation made by the Ma Langue Sourit chef: “I recently went to Mathieu’s house. I saw how hard he was fighting to achieve his goals. And I know Baptiste well too, we’ve worked together and we talk often… I wanted to put them in the spotlight, get them talked about, because they’re not yet being referenced as they should be.”
The same commitment, the same philosophy and the understanding between the three chefs promise an evening full of taste and harmony.
And a lunch…
The call to discover these young hopefuls of Luxembourg gastronomy has not gone unnoticed: while the evening is already sold out, a lunch is also planned the same day, so that anyone who wishes can discover this 6-handed performance.
With just one month to go before the famous Michelin stars are awarded, let’s hope this adventure brings the best of luck to Cyril Molard’s protégés!