In the 1912 manor which houses Le Jardin des Plumes in Giverny, a new chef shapes the dishes: Cyril Boulais, a discreet figure but already very popular with foodies. With him, the starred table takes a turn where technical precision meets real sensitivity to the product. And behind this rigor, a culinary questionnaire reveals a culinary personality that is much more intimate than it seems.
Because Cyril Boulais does not arrive in Normandy by chance. Having become executive head of Research & Development at Maisons David Gallienne in April 2025, he brings to the Jardin des Plumes more than twenty years of experience, an international career and a creative eye already recognized by the title of Grand de Demain 2022 by Gault&Millau. This journey serves as an ideal backdrop to any questionnaire seeking to understand how he thinks about cooking today.
Cyril Boulais, executive chef of the Jardin des Plumes in Giverny
Trained by a CAP cuisine obtained in 2001, Cyril Boulais started in Poitiers before spending more than eleven years in large Parisian houses, from Concorde Lafayette to Maison Rostang. He then took the road to Asia by joining the Caprice restaurant at the Four Seasons Hong Kong, then to Brussels with the Sea Grill, before participating in the opening of Kaza in Bali. This course builds a leader accustomed to the demands of large brigades as well as multiple influences.
The health crisis stopped the Balinese project and led to its return to France. In 2021, he took the helm of La Marine in Barneville-Carteret, kept the three hats and increased the restaurant’s rating from 15/20 to 16.5/20, a performance which earned him the title of Grand de Demain 2022. In April 2025, he joined Giverny as executive chef Research & Development of Maisons David Gallienne: his work directly feeds the menu of the Jardin des Plumes, distinguished 16/20, Table Remarkable, and offers an experience around $150 to $180.
Culinary questionnaire: what Cyril Boulais’ cuisine reveals
Rather than a simple question-and-answer game, a culinary questionnaire around Cyril Boulais serves as a pretext to return to a cuisine described as sensitive and demanding, centered on the product, the seasons and the land. And then, this format highlights his obsessions as an R&D chef: testing, refining, transcribing Normandy terroirs into legible dishes. We see it, for example, in a dish of langoustine, pork trotters and garden herbs, which has become one of the house’s signatures.
This type of questionnaire also makes it possible to explore the chef’s major playgrounds:
- his first memories of taste and the family dishes that left an impression on him;
- the Normandy products that he uses each season to create his menus;
- his way of transforming an idea into a dish, from the R&D laboratory to the dining room;
- the dialogue between his work and that of David Gallienne at the Jardin des Plumes;
- the way Giverny and the impressionist universe inspire colors and textures.
Le Jardin des Plumes, gastronomic mansion in Giverny
Nestled at 1 rue du Milieu, in a 1912 manor, Le Jardin des Plumes is a gourmet hotel-restaurant with a Michelin star. Under the leadership of David Gallienne, a native of the country, the house asserts itself as an author’s restaurant very anchored in Normandy, today supported behind the scenes by the pair he forms with Cyril Boulais. The recognition of Gault&Millau, with 16/20 and the Table Remarquable label, confirms this rise in power.
The menus, called , or , tell the story of this link between tableware and the landscape of Giverny. Here again, Cyril Boulais’ Research & Development work is expressed in the constant adjustments of the menus, the combinations of local products and the search for a clear but demanding cuisine. Because ultimately, it is this permanent dialogue between place, chef and season that shines through behind each culinary question asked of this discreet chef.
Who is Cyril Boulais, executive chef of Jardin des Plumes?
Cyril Boulais is a French chef trained in 2001, having worked in major Parisian houses, Hong Kong, Brussels and Bali, before heading La Marine in Barneville-Carteret. Since April 2025, he has been Executive Chef Research & Development at Maisons David Gallienne and oversees culinary creation at the Jardin des Plumes in Giverny.
What are Cyril Boulais’ main distinctions?
At La Marine, he kept the three toques and improved the restaurant’s rating from 15/20 to 16.5/20 at Gault&Millau. This performance earned him the title of Great of Tomorrow 2022 before his arrival at the Jardin des Plumes.
What is the style of cuisine at Jardin des Plumes in Giverny?
Le Jardin des Plumes offers French signature cuisine very anchored in Normandy, attentive to the products, the seasons and the land. The address, located in a 1912 manor, is distinguished by a Michelin star and a rating of 16/20 with the Table Remarquable label from Gault&Millau.
