TOP CHEF - David Gallienne, 31 years old, has been crowned winner of Top Chef 2020 in the final against Adrien. During an interview, the michelin-starred chef is back on this victory, and his adventure in the contest.

[updated June 18, 2020 at 00h05] The suspense has finally come to an end. David Gallienne has been crowned winner of Top Chef 2020. The candidate of the brigade at Hélène Darroze was certainly the only one candidate for the star of this season 11, but he has directed a course almost without fault, thanks to its rigor and experience. 31-years-old, David is already leader of his own gastronomic restaurant, Le Jardin des Plumes in Giverny in Normandy. In the final, broadcast on M6 on June 17, he faced Adrien Cachot, a candidate who has distinguished himself by his creativity and originality. However, the cook was able to convince the voters with a menu that is traveling. The winner of this season of Top Chef is back to the internet user on his victory, his adventure in the culinary competition, before sketching out its future projects.

What did you feel when you discovered that you had won Top Chef ?

An immense joy even greater than that of the announcement of my presence in the final ! I was surrounded by a party of my loved ones and my head Hélène Darroze and just seeing the jubilation around me and they are all proud of me, that's my most beautiful victory ! And very quickly, using the knife, I remember at that moment exactly realized that I was the winner of this season...

What represents for you this victory ?

More than 15 years of work, sacrifices ! And then the pride of having kept my promise to take my head Hélène Darroze until the end of this contest and to have won and shared the victory with her !

Is the accomplishment of this promise brought a special dimension to your triumph ?

of course, she is happy for me and I am very happy to share this victory with her.

"I think that this sum will allow the Feathers to continue to travel in the plates"

What are you going to do with the amount of money you have won ?

I don't know yet. I must say that I just buy the Garden of Feathers and invested a lot of money in my purchase entrepreneurial... With the economic crisis that all we met and especially in my profession, I think that this sum will allow to Feathers [The Garden of Feathers, his restaurant] to continue to travel in the plates...

How have you understood and experienced this final ?

Prepare a final it's a workout. It should fit, as I do with my brigade to the Feathers and be aligned with his work. But I took a lot of pleasure ! There was a beautiful cohesion of team in the brigade. One would have to believe that it was preparing a banquet between friends for friends ! They were all just at the top, and Jordan that I knew little, was given to three thousand percent. There has been remarkable !

what is it that has made the difference according to you ?

I think my next classic and reassuring, perhaps it is this that has made the difference ? But at the same time, the scores were very tight !

"Pick up the holy Grail of the final, this is something to which we do not think at the beginning of the competition"

When you started the contest, did you go so far ?

When starts Top Chef, we seek to endure in the time, but winning the holy Grail of the final, it is a thing to which we do not think at the beginning of the competition. One seeks to strive and give their all, but this motivated me to keep fit, it is this promise that I made to my head Hélène Darroze to take it as far as possible and in the final. Promise that I held !

Why have you made this promise to Hélène Darroze's take in the final from the start of the contest ?

Head of Hélène Darroze has never presented a candidate in the final of the culinary contest. It is like a challenge that I launched that you do so in order to challenge myself and achieve it !

I washed my promised Head to take you to the final @HeleneDarroze . It is now a done thing! @topchefOFFICIEL is a challenge, it is necessary to fight constantly, and be judged by our great leaders for our dishes is a true happiness! #TopChefFrance #topchef #topchef2020 pic.twitter.com/jTBNOheQyo

— David TopChef (@david_topchef11) June 10, 2020

the ceremony of The knife has been turned in special circumstances this year : how have you lived ?

I would have loved to be surrounded by my family and close friends, but this was not possible with the restrictions due to the health crisis. The principal was to have the people I love the most at my side... and for the friends, well it will have to wait for the broadcast !

"just the fact of having realized one of my dreams by participating in Top Chef, it's a lot for me."

You have waited several months before you know the verdict, how have you lived this period between the end of filming at the George V and the filming of the ceremony of knives ?

I have not stopped ! I cooked for caregivers, launched a click-and-collect at my restaurant, so I have not had the time to let me poser these issues, sincerely. Also, the result was not the most important, because win or not, just the fact of having realized one of my dreams, which was to participate in the contest on Top Chef, is already a lot for me !

What conclusions can you draw from your participation in this contest ? That brought you Top Chef ?

I get out of this contest with a lot of answers to my questions. Top Chef allowed me to take a step back from my kitchen, because judging by the great names of the gastronomy world as we could be, it allows you to see things more clearly in his attitude, and above all it makes you want to be even more creative ! My best memory was the test of the chef Pierre Gagnaire, the black box. The most complicated moment was the cooking of the feet, calf, strawberry calf, shoots feet and fungi in a time-record without any other product ...

You are already star and chef of your own restaurant : now that Top Chef is over, what are your plans ?