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37 Promenade des Anglais, 06000 Nice France
Meilleur Ouvrier de France and a key figure in French gastronomy, Virginie Basselot has led the kitchens of Le Negresco in Nice since 2018. Within the MICHELIN-starred restaurant Le Chantecler, she creates a contemporary cuisine, sensitive and deeply rooted in the Mediterranean terroir.
At the head of Le Chantecler’s kitchens, Virginie Basselot develops an approach where seasonality, precision of gesture and creativity engage in elegant dialogue. Her cuisine honours the region’s producers, artisans and know-how through a contemporary style guided by emotion and rigour.
Although her childhood dream was to become a fighter pilot, Virginie Basselot ultimately steered her path toward gastronomy. A native of Normandy, she developed a deep attachment early on to terroir produce and to passing on flavour.
Having lived on the Riviera for several years, the chef now draws her cuisine from the richness of Mediterranean landscapes, the light of Nice and the diversity of producers across the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region.
Virginie Basselot’s career led her through prestigious French houses, working alongside iconic chefs such as Guy Martin and Éric Fréchon, Meilleur Ouvrier de France and then Head Chef at Épicure, a restaurant with three MICHELIN stars.
From Le Grand Véfour to Le Bristol Paris and Le Saint-James, she perfected her technical mastery and honed a personal vision of French gastronomy. She thus earned her first MICHELIN star. Her vision was also enriched by international experience, notably at La Réserve in Geneva. In 2015, Virginie Basselot became the second woman chef to receive the title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France.
In 2018, Virginie Basselot took the helm of Le Chantecler’s kitchens, Le Negresco’s emblematic restaurant. The first woman to lead the kitchens of this Nice institution, she brought a contemporary, Mediterranean vision to French haute cuisine.
The experience continues with the creations of Yann Le Douaron, Le Chantecler’s pastry chef. Trained alongside renowned figures and within prestigious houses, he creates desserts full of sensitivity, precision and boldness. He reinterprets the great classics of pastry-making while preserving the restaurant’s identity, with a delicate touch of fleur de sel as his signature.
Alongside the dining room teams and head sommelier Jean-Gabriel Sivigliero, every experience is built through a constant pursuit of harmony, elegance and attention to detail.
Chef of the MICHELIN-starred Le Chantecler and Meilleur Ouvrier de France, Virginie Basselot embodies a demanding, contemporary vision of French gastronomy. The first woman to lead Le Chantecler’s kitchens and the second woman chef to earn the MOF title, she today inspires a new generation of talent through her career, her rigour and her culinary sensitivity.
At Le Chantecler, gastronomy is experienced as a deeply sensory journey where refined décor, service excellence and culinary creativity come together in harmony.
L’Instant Végétal, like all of the restaurant’s signature dishes, reflects Virginie Basselot’s commitment to an elegant, sincere cuisine of authorship.
Through each of her creations, the chef celebrates the excellence of the terroirs and the know-how of the artisans who work alongside her. An invitation to discover Le Chantecler’s singular world – one of the Riviera’s great gastronomic signatures.
