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LYON
THE CHEF
NICOLAS LE BEC
Both one of Lyon’s best-known chefs and its least typical,
Le Bec is a globetrotter who began his career working in
NewYork at 17, then became Gault &Millau Chef of the
Year in 2002 at Lyon’s Cour des Loges before opening
his own restaurant. As his CV shows, he’s not afraid to
challenge culinary convention – or to take a risk. He gave
up twoMichelin stars tomigrate to the Confluence district,
converting colossal salt warehouses into Rue Le Bec
(
nicolaslebec.com
), a convivial melting pot of restaurant,
café and food shops. “I could have stayed where I was and
chosen tranquility,” he says, “but that’s not my style.”
Le Bec admits the complex is more on the scale of a
Far Eastern hotel than Lyonnais bistro, complete with
“boutiques where you can have a good sandwich, with
bread, good hamand real butter”. His vision is a democratic
one. “I wanted tomake the cuisine accessible tomanymore
people; rather than only 2% of people who can eat in a grand
restaurant, perhaps 80% can eat here.”
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TRAVELLER