Le Fooding 2023 award winners named

Le Fooding has named its best restaurant in France for 2023– and it comes with its own free-range pig farm and vegetable garden.

Le Doyenné, in Saint-Vrain (Essonne), about 40k from Paris, is run by Australians James Henry and Shaun Kelly and only opened in July.

The Presbytère in Heugueville-sur-Sienne (Manche) by British chef Edward Delling-Williams is named best country pub in the 2023 Guide, and Oiseau Oiseau by Frenchman Sven Chartier in Perche-en-Nocé (Orne) is awarded the Fooding d’amour. They and Le Doyenné are all part of a growing trend which has seen chefs moving out from Paris to settle in the countryside where they can more easily grow their own produce.

Christine Doublet, deputy general manager of Le Fooding, told AFP the increasing number of top chefs working in the regions was “inspiring”. “They are reviving places that were sleepy,” she said.

Created in Paris in 2000, Le Fooding rewards 15 of the best new openings of the year alongside 500 top tips for restaurants and bars across the country. This year’s winning list included:

Best table

Le Doyenné, Saint-Vrain, Essonne (James Edward Henry et Shaun Kelly) 

Fooding d’amour

Jones, Paris (Riccardo Ferrante et Damien Lacour) 

Fooding d’amour

Oiseau Oiseau, Préaux-du-Perche, Orne (Marianne, Sven et Nils Chartier) 

Best country pub

The Presbytère, Heugueville-sur-Sienne, Manche (Edward Delling-Williams)  

Best team spirit

Restaurant l’Idéal, Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône (Julia Sammut, Aurélien Baron et Jérémy Nguyen) 

Best Village Café

Jour de Fête, Valennes, Sarthe (Raphaële, Adèle et Maud Yon-Araud et Étienne Legrand) 

Best bistro

Bistrot des Tournelles, Paris (Geoffroy Langella et Édouard Vermynck) 

Best bar

Ritournelle, Dinard, Ille-et-Vilaine (Miléna Cugny et Benjamin Joinville) 

Find out more or buy the guide at Le Fooding.

Lead photo credit : Le Doyenné has been named the best restaurant in France by Le Fooding (Image © Le Doyenné)