Chef Yoric Tièche, who has led the kitchens of the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat since 2017, has been awarded the Gault&Millau d’Or 2025 for the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Corsica, and Monaco region, recognising his signature blend of Mediterranean tradition, garden-led innovation, and refined technique.
The annual award is among the most respected in French gastronomy, and this year it shines a light on a chef known as much for his quiet precision as for his bold embrace of local ingredients. Working from one of the French Riviera’s most prestigious addresses, Tièche has built a culinary identity rooted in the landscape around him—from the sea to the mountaintop potager that supplies his kitchen.
At Le Cap, the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant, Tièche’s menus are a direct reflection of the Mediterranean terroir. Dishes combine line-caught fish with produce harvested just hours earlier from the hotel’s garden overlooking Villefranche-sur-Mer. This vegetable-rich corner, where over a dozen varieties of tomatoes and aubergines are grown, has become central to his process. “The garden is more than a source,” he said in receiving the award. “It’s a rhythm, a way of thinking.”
Tièche’s style is anchored in contrast and restraint. Dishes such as his Patchwork of vegetables and herbettes are lifted with notes of Kalamata olive and pine nut, while red mullet with anchovy is paired with braised fennel and mussels from the Camargue. Across the menu, floral elements like coriander blossoms and wild fennel add subtle aromatic depth, carefully balanced against touches of tamarind, citrus, or sorrel.
As part of his commitment to transparency and terroir, Tièche often brings guests into the garden itself, offering what he calls “a sensory connection” to the source of their meals. His team includes pastry chef Pierre-Jean Quinonero and sommelier Alessandro Nigro Imperiale, Meilleur Sommelier d’Italie 2022.
“This is not just my award,” said Tièche. “It belongs to the brigade—passionate, talented, and deeply rooted in this region.”
Already awarded a Michelin star, this new honour from Gault&Millau reinforces Tièche’s status as one of the leading voices in contemporary Riviera cuisine, and affirms the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat’s place among the region’s finest gastronomic destinations.
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Main photo of Yoric Tieche in the vegetable garden, provided