i. Biography
At Les Funambules in Strasbourg, where Guillaume Besson has been chef since 2016, the work begins with appetite, then gets pared back by taste. The line — “I have always been gourmand, gourmet, epicurean, and intensely curious.” — reads less as self-myth than as a working method: start from pleasure, stay close to memory, and keep adjusting by texture, balance, and instinct until a dish settles into place.
Coming Up
Training at Lycée Hôtelier d'Illkirch gave Guillaume Besson the base line. From there, he moved through kitchens that required precision, discipline, and a steady hand: cook at Richard Coutanceau in La Rochelle, then chef at restaurant on the island of Oléron in Île d'Oléron, before taking up a role as cook at Au Crocodile in Strasbourg (from 2009) and later as chef at Clos des Délices in Ottrott. The progression is cumulative rather than dramatic: technique taken seriously, instinct sharpened under repetition, and a cooking voice clarified through correction and close attention. Since 2016, Besson has held the kitchen at Les Funambules in Strasbourg, and the line through those earlier rooms remains visible in the way he works now: controlled, exact, and built on accumulated practice rather than display.
Where They Are Now
Since 2016, Besson has led the kitchen at Les Funambules in Strasbourg, France, as chef and chef de cuisine. His method starts with a mental catalogue of familiar bases and then narrows through deliberate adjustment. Cream, coffee, Parmesan, lovage, smoked butter, hazelnut oil, lemon zest: these are not decorations but working variables, each one a way to shift a dish just enough to change its register without losing its structure. That approach gives the kitchen its calm focus. The point is not novelty for its own sake, but controlled revision — returning to known forms and tuning them until they read cleanly. In that sense, the cuisine is built on restraint: attentive, deliberate, and made to land with clarity.
Signature
Guillaume's signature dishes include Veal with green asparagus, mimolett and wild garlic potato, Dashi, octopus, cockles, potatoes and lemon, Veal carpaccio, foie gras, fried bread, and sesame. The logic across them is consistent: delicate elements set against depth, brightness set against richness, with combinations assembled to feel composed without becoming rigid.
In Their Words “I have my mental catalogue of basic recipes, and I adapt them; for mashed potatoes, I might vary it with cream, coffee, Parmesan, lovage, smoked butter, hazelnut oil, lemon zest, etc.” “I have always been gourmand, gourmet, epicurean, and intensely curious.”
Honors
Guillaume Besson has received Guide Michelin, one star (2019). Guillaume's honors include Michelin Guide, one star (2019) and 3 toques.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Guillaume
Where did Guillaume Besson train or study?
Guillaume Besson trained at Lycée Hôtelier d'Illkirch.
What recognition has Guillaume Besson received?
Michelin Guide, one star (2019).
