Radicelle: Benjamin Breton’s poetic roots
Some encounters never fade. I still remember, as if it were yesterday, the day I crossed paths with Benjamin Breton. He too remembers it, with the tender nostalgia that envelops founding moments. Since that dinner at Bottle Brothers in 2015, I’ve always had a deep admiration for this young chef. Because, on the one hand, in his first gestures, there was already something right, sincere and powerful. On the other hand, his path since then has been one of hard work, momentum, overcoming obstacles and embracing visions.
Four years old
Four years have passed since the opening of the Bistrot de Madeleine and Auberge de Lucingesa Michelin-starred restaurant. Four years during which Benjamin Breton has never stopped cooking, imagining, questioning, challenging himself and those who work with him. For him, success is never solitary. It’s a circle. A sharing. Gratitude. A common elevation.
Naturally, the entrepreneur he has become couldn’t stop there. A stone’s throw from Geneva, in the village of Veigy, he found a setting in his image: sober, warm and delicately elegant. A place conceived as a protective refuge, a promise of culinary solidarity. A place with a poetic name: Radicelle.
Three spaces
Radicelle, like those fine roots in the soil that seek out light even before breaking through the surface. A perfect metaphor to tell the rest of its story. Three spaces make up this new chapter: a thirty-seat restaurant, a grocery store dedicated to the artisans he admires, and a table d’hôte for friends and happy passers-by. Here, people come to meet, to laugh, to uncork a fine bottle, to let the hours slip by gently.
The menu is short and lively, with no codes or constraints. Titles that change according to mood and the passage of time. Dishes that move from table to table, shared with a knowing glance. A cuisine that’s sometimes mischievous, but always generous; like this braised pork chop, which promises to be a gourmet delight. As for the cellar, it sings of the France we love: the regions, the winemakers, the wines that tell us more about the landscapes we’ve crossed.
Radicella gathers
In this new home, everyone has their place. In the dining room, Alexandre Thomas and Mallaury Girod welcome guests with their natural elegance. In the kitchen, Kevin Giraud, faithful among the faithful, takes the reins, making Radicelle a house in its own right, and not just an extension. The key pieces are in place. The adventure can begin, and promises to be a great one.
So yes, how can we fail to take our hats off to this young chef who, with patience and daring, continues to write new gastronomic pages? How can we not be delighted to see talent driven by consistency, vision and generosity? Radicelle is a place to discover. A place of warmth and noble yet never pretentious materials. A place that resembles Benjamin Breton: precise, luminous and deeply human. A place where you come to eat, of course, but above all to feel, together, that the world can still be sweet.
