Benjamin Le Balch

The Path

Training at Villepinte and Saint-Raphaël set the base: disciplined mise en place, service rhythm, and the kind of repetition that hardens into craft. At Excelsior in Saint-Raphaël, Benjamin Le Balch moved from apprenti to member of the brigade, a route that shows the kitchen as a place of learning from within, where service is understood by doing the work in sequence and under pressure. At Golf de Roquebrune, the progression from sous-chef to chef marked a further step in command, with responsibility widening as the standard stayed fixed. At Chez Jeannette, Benjamin Le Balch is chef, and the position reads as continuity rather than arrival: a career built through measured advancement, shared work, and consistent standards.

Signature

Tartelette au topinambour et parmesan sits in the register of vegetable-led cooking: direct, seasonal in feel, and built around contrast rather than ornament. In Benjamin Le Balch’s hands, the pairing points to a plate structured by clarity, with topinambour bringing earthy sweetness and parmesan supplying savoury depth. The signature reads as a disciplined composition, one that relies on proportion and restraint to carry its weight.

In Their Words “It's a reward for the three of us. We worked hard for it. Whenever we create dishes, starters, desserts, we taste together. We make sure that it moves forward together.” The kitchen method here is collective tasting and collective adjustment. Benjamin Le Balch describes a process in which dishes, starters, and desserts are all tested as a group, so development happens through shared correction rather than isolated decisions. The result is a brigade culture where progress is measured by how well the whole team moves in step. Vegetables are the clearest line in Benjamin Le Balch’s cooking. The point is not rhetoric but focus: an ingredient category treated as central ground for work, not as garnish or side note.

Acclaim

MICHELIN Guide, 1 star marks Benjamin Le Balch’s work with a formal note of recognition. It sits alongside the path from Villepinte and Saint-Raphaël to Excelsior in Saint-Raphaël, then Golf de Roquebrune, and now Chez Jeannette in Flassans-sur-Issole. The award lands cleanly against the discipline, teamwork, and steady progression already visible in the craft.