Jean Imbert
French chef, cookbook author and 2012 Top Chef winner whose work brings family recipes and French fine dining to restaurants, television and Instagram.
At 100 nudges, fangea sends Jean’s team an official invite.
🔒 Star boosts open once Jean claims this page.
Latest
Jean’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus his backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
Overview
- From
- L’Haÿ-les-Roses, France
- Training
- Institut Paul Bocuse
- Breakout
- Winner of Top Chef France, season 3, in 2012
- Work
- Chef, cookbook author and television personality
Mini bio
Family first.
His grandmother’s cooking in Brittany helped shape Jean’s vocation. He trained at the Institut Paul Bocuse and opened L’Acajou in Paris in 2004, before winning Top Chef in 2012.
Recipes to share.
In 2019, he turned L’Acajou into Mamie, built around family recipes. His cookbook Merci Mamie pour les recettes gathers 70 dishes, including lemon chicken and zucchini terrine.
A wider table.
Collaborations took him to Swan in Miami with Pharrell Williams, La Case in Saint-Barth and the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. He succeeded Alain Ducasse at the Plaza Athénée in 2021 and reinvented La Palme d’Or in Cannes in 2024.
The latest chapter.
He announced a retreat from his establishments in August 2025 amid domestic violence allegations, which he contests. His Plaza Athénée kitchen role ended in April 2026. In August 2026, a judge placed him under the status of témoin assisté as the investigation continued.
Creditschronological, newest first
Restaurants
- 2025La Forêt Secrète par Jean ImbertChef and creator, with executive chef Moussa Konaté
- 2024La Palme d’OrChef behind the restaurant’s reinvention
- 2022Venice Simplon-Orient-ExpressAppointed chef
Books
- 2023Plaza AthénéeIntroduction; collaboration with Marc Lambron and Oliver Pilcher
- 2019Merci Mamie pour les recettesAuthor
Television
- 2012Top Chef France, season 3Winner
Awards
Quotes
Elle est la raison pour laquelle j’ai toujours voulu faire ce métier.Jean Imbert, Merci Mamie pour les recettes, Hachette
Writing about his grandmother and the wish to open a restaurant with her.
Trivia
- His Disneyland restaurant included the first dedicated children’s menu of his career.
- For La Palme d’Or, the menu is presented like a screenplay with storyboards.
- Merci Mamie includes a recipe for quatre-quarts spread with butter.
Find Jean
Follow Jean’s food, restaurant projects and kitchen moments on Instagram.
Are you Jean Imbert?
Fans built this page. Claim it to connect with them and unlock Star boosts, or request a takedown if you’d rather it not exist.