Originally from Metz, Benoit Potdevin began his training at the Lycée hôtelier, then went on to La Citadelle in Metz, La Grande Cascade in Paris, Le Château d’Adomenil, before heading for the sun in Agde in southern France, where he won a Bib Gourmand recognition from the Michelin Guide, then to Garons at Restaurant Alexandre (2 Michelin stars). When his wife became pregnant, he decided to move back to eastern France.

Potdevin met Alexandre Keff--owner of the recently opened Domaine de la Klauss--at the end of 2016, and launched the hotel's restaurant, Le K, together with Keff in January 2017. “At first, the cuisine was bistronomic, with local produce, without too much fuss, and above all the desire to provide pleasure.” But the enthusiasm of his customers pushed him to go further, eventually serving gourmet cuisine and earning him his first Michelin star last year.

His cuisine? Classical and French; he likes to play with acidity, but the dishes always remains gourmet and there are rarely more than three products on a plate. Potdevin also likes to involve the wait staff in the presentation of the food, such as through pouring a sauce or grating a truffle... It’s an interaction that creates conviviality and contributes to the essential notion of sharing: aperitifs are served in the middle of the table, bread is offered in small loaves that are meant to be broken. Naturally, local and plant-based ingredients play an important role. The chef doesn’t hesitate to offer the same vegetable in different forms: at the moment, on the menu, alongside scallops, Jerusalem artichokes are prepared in compressed, praline, crisp and puréed form. The different textures allow for a multi-faceted discovery of the same product.

Whilst he readily admits to being stubborn and a hard worker, Potdevin still likes things to be chill in the kitchen. To achieve this, he talks to his teams, anticipates as much as possible and sometimes works to music. “I want to show younger people that rigour and good humour are not mutually exclusive,” says the chef, who is not staying idle. In addition to the Klauss, , Keff’s second address, and has just bought Aux Trois Capitaines, “a simply, friendly restaurant,” where his wife Anaïs is at the helm.

Le K, 2 Impasse du Klaussberg, 57480 Montenach (France)

This article was written in  for the  of Paperjam magazine, published on 26 March. The content is produced exclusively for the magazine. It is published on the site to contribute to the full Paperjam archive. .

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