A few years ago, Daniel Michelin, a cheese ripener, set up his cheese bar in Grilly, which became the Restaurant des Bergers at the end of 2019. It is run by Philippe Standaert, Meilleur Ouvrier de France, and his wife Sandra.
Portrait of Pays de Gex’s only MOF!
Originally from Burgundy and having grown up in Haute-Savoie, Philippe Standaert began his career in the service industry at the age of 15. He cut his teeth in various establishments.
After spending some fifteen years in Reims in a famous Michelin-starred restaurant (coincidence?), where he became Meilleur Ouvrier de France as Maître d’hôtel, he returned to his beloved region.
When you become a MOF, there’s no shortage of requests! So he gradually climbed the ladder to become general manager of a famous establishment in Megève.
His plans then took him to Switzerland, to Versoix and then Geneva, where he and a young couple relaunched the restaurant Les Philosophes (was it a premonition that he would move to the Pays de Gex?). It was here that he met cheesemaker Daniel Michelin, the restaurant’s supplier at the time.
A cheese identity
The deal is done, Sandra & Philippe are buying the Bergers restaurant. And after 5 months in business, the happy owners are delighted with the reputation and visibility of their establishment. The restaurant has made a name for itself among the restaurants in the Pays de Gex.
Sandra, Philippe and their chef continue to offer cheese specialities from the cheese dairy next door to the restaurant… it couldn’t be closer! They are also diversifying the cuisine while retaining the cheese identity that has made the restaurant’s reputation.
Will Grilly dethrone Gruyères?
And why not!
The little town is set to become THE place in Gessen to eat fondue all year round, much to the delight of cheese lovers. And there are plenty of them! The French are the 4th biggest consumers of cheese, with 27kg/year/inhabitant according to a 2016 study.
Our MOF also loves cheese, and he gives us his preference: he particularly likes… Comté.
In the restaurant, you’ll be tempted by the house speciality: the Michelin fondue, a delicious blend of Comté, Gruyère and Vacherin fribourgeois cheeses. It’s now the best-seller of the restaurant!
So how about enjoying a fondue on the terrace in the sun this summer?
A head full of ideas
The jovial couple have already set up a number of events, such as wine and cheese tasting evenings, which they intend to repeat with a friend, a renowned sommelier (also a MOF!), not forgetting the Sunday brunches…
The restaurant is close to the Gex-Divonne greenway. So he would like to develop afternoon snacks along this busy stretch of road, and build a petanque pitch at the bottom of the field.
Thematics
