BIOGRAPHY
THE CHEF'S PROFILE
The traditional French dish Lapin aux Olives (Rabbit with olives), cooked by his mother, it’s his strongest childhood memory. Still today remembers the aromas, the ritual of preparing it (which he always closely observed) and the final flavors of the ingredients that made this dish so special for him. In the family, meals were moments of pleasure and discovery and it was precisely as a child that he decided to become a cook.
Vincent Farges was born in Rillieu-la-Pape, in the region of Rhône-Aples in France, 1973. He grew up with the privilege of being extremely close to Nature, with the ritual of picking the products directly from the land to the table, with the diversity of flavors found in hunting and fishing, and this marked profoundly his way of looking at gastronomy.
At 14 years of age he started his training in cooking, motivated to mark his presence in this area that so much fascinated him. His first job at the Hotel Le Grand Paris, in Digne les Bains with a Michelin Star, meant more than a step to enter to high gastronomy, but instead it meant a redefinition of values, a profound apprenticeship of the culinary culture, and, above all, it was where he deeply fell in love with the job.
His first big achievement in his culinary evolutionary path came when he was 20 years old, when he begins working at the Hotel Le Juana, in Juan Les Pins, holding two Michelin Stars. In this phase he embodies the technical rigor, organization and artistic design of the dishes, all characteristics still alive in his work.
He has been through some of the best French restaurants, through Morocco and through Greece, but the defining moment of his career occurs in Strasburg, when he worked at the famous Le Buerehiesel, holding three Michelin Stars. Together with Antoine Westermann. This chef put Vincent Farges in the Portuguese path, when he invited him to lead the kitchen of the famous Hotel Fortaleza do Guincho, in Cascais.
For the ten years that he was executive chef of this restaurant, Vincent Farges stands out ad one of the biggest references of high gastronomy working in Portugal, maintaining a solid Michelin Star during this period.
He was responsible for making a connection between the Portuguese products and the French cuisine, making him one of the biggest players of the modernization of traditional Portuguese cuisine.
Creative, demanding and perfectionism are the keywords that define the work of Vincent Farges, but it’s his passion for the products that stands out in the sublime result of his creations.
2014
Chef of the Year – Guia Boa Cama Boa Mesa
2014
Platinum Fork for the Fortaleza do Guincho Restaurant – Guia Boa Cama Boa Mesa
2014
Three Suns by the Repsol Guide (Portugal & Spain) for the Fortaleza do Guincho Restaurant
2013
Chef de l’avenir award (chef of the future) by the International Gastronomy Academy
2012
Fortaleza do Guincho is considered Restaurant of the Year by Revista dos Vinhos
2012
Fortaleza do Guincho is considered Restaurant of the Year by Revista Wine
Gold Fork for the Fortaleza do Guincho Restaurant 2005 to 2012 – Guia Boa Cama Boa Mesa
2010
Best French Restaurant of the Iberian Pensinsula by Saturday Magazine