i. Biography
Julien Malaisse’s cooking at Pré de chez vous in Bouge, Belgium, reads as the result of patient progression: built step by step, shaped by discipline, and held together by a clear working purpose. In 2024, that work was marked on two fronts — Malaisse received the MICHELIN Young Chef Award, and Pré de chez vous earned its first Michelin star — placing chef and restaurant in the same frame without changing the terms of the craft.
The Climb
Formal hospitality schooling at École hôtelière de la Citadelle and later École hôtelière Ilon Saint-Jacques à Namur gave Malaisse the base that matters in a professional kitchen: technique, rhythm, rigor and the ability to work with intent. That kind of training is less about polish than about structure, and structure is what lets a kitchen keep its standards day after day. High-level service came next, with work for San Degeimbre at L'Air du Temps and later at L'Essentiel in Temploux. Those rooms sharpened the expectations around precision and consistency, and they helped define the professional shape that would eventually carry him into his own kitchen. Today, Julien is chef of Pré de chez vous.
Today
At Pré de chez vous, the chef’s role places Malaisse at the center of a compact restaurant built on clarity rather than excess. In Bouge, the kitchen’s value lies in measured execution, and the restaurant’s recognition in 2024 simply made that already-visible work harder to ignore. The force of the place comes from restraint: a concise setup, a chef in direct control, and results that register because they are not overstated. Malaisse’s name is now attached to a restaurant whose language is precise, and that precision is what gives the achievement its weight.
Recognition
The key distinction for Malaisse arrived in 2024 with the MICHELIN Young Chef Award. In the same year, Pré de chez vous earned its first Michelin star, confirming the restaurant’s standing and marking a clear point of advance for the chef. Taken together, those two recognitions made 2024 a defining year for Julien Malaisse and Pré de chez vous. The signal was straightforward: a career built through training, service and steady advancement had reached a new level of public acknowledgment.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Julien
What is Julien Malaisse's current role?
As of 2026, Julien Malaisse is Chef.
Where did Julien Malaisse train or study?
Julien Malaisse trained at École hôtelière de la Citadelle and École hôtelière Ilon Saint-Jacques à Namur.
What recognition has Julien Malaisse received?
MICHELIN Young Chef Award (2024).
