Julien Laval

The Climb

Training at Lycée Jean Capelle gave Julien Laval the base, but the discipline of service came later, in kitchens where timing and composure are tested every day. As sous-chef at Kilimandjaro in Courchevel from 2008 to 2009, he worked in a fine-dining resort setting where pace and precision were non-negotiable. That period built the habits a kitchen depends on: concentration, stamina, and the ability to keep a pass steady when the room is moving fast. Since 2022, as chef of Château d'Origny, those habits have continued to shape the way he cooks, now within a house that asks for the same control, just in a different register.

Today

At Château d'Origny, Julien Laval's cooking is defined by control rather than display. The work there reflects a chef who has advanced through the line by accumulation: time, repetition, and the discipline to keep refining the plate without crowding it. His approach reads with clarity and structure, letting the menu speak through balance and measured intent. Since 2022, that steadiness has been the point: a kitchen run with authority, but without excess.

Signature

Menu Gourmandise, Menu Origny, and Menu Découverte are the clearest markers of Julien Laval's kitchen language. Each title points to a different mode of service and a different way of structuring the dining experience: pleasure, place, and discovery. Read together, they suggest a chef who builds variety without breaking coherence, keeping the menu legible while giving each offer its own character. The signature lies in that balance between welcome and control.

In Their Words The value of an early stage often shows up later in how a chef works a line, and Julien Laval points to one such period in Soulac-sur-Mer. In a restaurant of poissons et fruits de mer, Florent Chanceau was the name attached to that first serious exposure, and the memory stays with him because he returned for several summers. What matters here is less romance than repetition: a place, a mentor, and enough time in the room for the work to leave a mark on how a chef thinks.

Recognition

Julien's honors include Guide MICHELIN, one star. The distinction sits alongside the rest of his record as evidence of a kitchen style built on consistency and command, with Château d'Origny as the current frame for that work.