Denis Martin

Denis Martin is the icebreaker of Swiss avant-garde, a molecular chef who never repented, but also much more than this. Technology, fantasy, science fiction: he’s a Girardet of the third millennium, as Rafael Garcia Santos said, well-equipped to undertake his culinary space odyssey.

At the beginning of his apprenticeship, just 14 years old, the realm of classical still ruled, but Denis soon showed to prefer the subtle alchemy of Chinese food and, above all, aromatic watermarks from Thailand, his greatest passion. An elective homeland flanked in time by the fascination for Piedmont, known thanks to his wife Clara.
The opening of his first restaurant dates back to 1980, almost entirely self-taught, with no quotations from the celebrities of the time. He used to work tirelessly on inspirations and personal recipes, side by side with chefs with Chinese roots. Humor and fun were at the centre of his viewfinder: he liked to surprise, entertain, innovate.

Today his routine does not leave room to usual rhythms: open only at dinner, during the rest of the day the restaurant (where you can only eat a 26-course tasting menu, with no à-la-carte options) is a stage for the tireless and creative trials of his 4-elements staff. Ennio Cantergiani, a food science engineer, established a strong professional association with Denis, thanks to whom the chef can scrupulously distinguish the domain of the five senses, mastering nuances, terminologies and interactions. For this purpose he equipped himself with sprays, filter particles, heating-rotating press. A research laboratory Nasa style, working with important schools.
But this technologies always point on taste, car c’est ben lui le patron. Denis handles them with Pierre-Alain Gschwend a young and passionate chef mastering a cook kids brigade.