Thomas BOULLAULT

Chef : L'Arôme From Romorantin to the Royal Monceau, Thomas Boullault has been at the helm of L'Arôme since 2007 and maintains his 3 Gault&Millau toques in Paris.

Presentation

Thomas Boullault landed his first job at the Auberge de la Tête de Lard when he was 12—somewhat by chance. “We went there for lunch one weekend. At the end of the meal, my father asked the chef if he could take me on as an intern. Mr. Benni told him I should just come in on December 31.‘You’ll see, he won’t ask you to cook anymore’; but on the contrary, I loved it ,” he recalls. Three years later, with his CAP in hand, he joined Philippe Valin’s team at Auberge Le Lanthenay in Romorantin-Lanthenay.

The Big Move to Paris

In 2000, grieving the recent death of his best friend, Thomas Boullault decided to leave the region and move to Paris. “One day, I called Le Taillevent to speak with Philippe Legendre, saying it was a personal call. I told him I was a commis chef in Romorantin and that I wanted to work with him.” As luck would have it, the chef was just leaving to oversee the reopening of Le Cinq, the restaurant at the Georges V.

From Switzerland to the Royal Monceau: Training at Top Establishments

In 2001, he joined the restaurant Le Schild in Fribourg, Switzerland, as a chef de partie, then as a sous-chef. Two years later, he joined Le Seize au Seize, working under Frédéric Simonin, this time as a chef de partie. “I felt I needed to take a step back; I’d been promoted to sous chef too quickly.” In 2003, he joined the Royal Monceau to work under Christophe Pelé. In four years, he rose from section chef to second-in-command.

2007: The Move to L’Arôme

But in 2007, the luxury hotel closed for renovations. Thomas Boullault then decided to strike out on his own. He became chef at the Parisian restaurant L’Arôme, which he bought in 2019. Gault&Millau quickly awarded him 2 toques, then 3 toques—a rating he has maintained in the guide’s most recent editions.