Jean-Luc Rabanel
© AFP Francois GuillotPARIS (AFP) - Rabanel's 35-seat L'Atelier de Jean-Luc Rabanel in southern Arles was plucked from gourmet oblivion in 2006 as one of France's best 200 "young cuisines" by the Omnivore gastronomic magazine.
Waxing lyrical, the 2008 edition of GaultMillau, one of France's top two guides with Michelin, said he was "the perfect illustration of the evolution of cuisine today."
"As a man of committment, he cooks with organic products, as a man with imagination he underlines delicate tastes and strong textures."
It gave him a 17 out of 20 rating and cited his "No Nem", a fish stuffed with beans and flowers, or dried tomato and orange peel ravioles served with a sweet onion broth.
Rabanel, who is 43 and told AFP he had learnt to cook alone, works with ingredients from a farm that grows vegetables and herbs for him and at dinner can send out as many as 18 courses from his semi-open kitchen.
The guide's only chef rated 20 out of 20 was herb and plant-loving Marc Veyrat, of La Maison de Marc Veyrat near Annecy close to the French Alps.
The 2008 edition of the guide, available on November 1, said seven proclaimed seven establishments "icons of French cuisine". They were Alain Chapel at Mionnay, L'Auberge de l'Ill at Illhaeusern, Paul Bocuse at Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or, and four Paris restaurants, La Tour d'Argent, Alain Senderens, Lasserre and Laurent.
©AFP