Executive chef Philippe Labbé has been named “Cuisinier of the Year” by Gault & Millau. This honor follows the acclaim for the three restaurants at Shangri-La Hotel, Paris; the gastronomic restaurant L’Abeille now has five toques, while Shang Palace, exclusively dedicated to Cantonese-influenced Chinese cooking, has three toques.
Established over 40 years ago, the Gault & Millau brand was created by Henri Gault and Christian Millau. It was acquired by Otium Capital in 2009.
The “Cuisinier of the Year” award from Gault & Millau crowns what was said to be “an exceptional year in which Shangri-La Hotel, Paris”, which also won three Michelin stars: two for L’Abeille and one for Shang Palace.
Born in Troyes in 1961, Labbé graduated from the Hotel School in Strasbourg. From there, Labbé joined Bernard Loiseau at La Côte d’Or; he later met an “extraordinary teacher” in Michel Lorain and expanded his repertoire at the Auberge des Templiers. From the glassed-in kitchens at Les Crayères, where Labbé worked with Gérard Boyer, to destination restaurants on the Riviera – Le Moulin de Mougins, the Martinez and La Belle Otéro (in Cannes) –Labbé honed his craft. In 1996, Chef Labbé joined the Plaza Athénée in Paris, where, together with Éric Briffard, he restructured the kitchen brigades and created a gastronomic restaurant. In 2001, Labbé was at the Château de Bagnols when it received a Michelin star, and then he moved on to work his magic at the Château de la Chèvre d’Or.
Today, Labbé is executive chef at Shangri-La Hotel, Paris, which he joined in 2009.
Shangri-La Hotel, Paris