Wine lovers who are fans of the show will not have failed to notice it: for four years, the Château La Lagune in Ludon-Médoc (Gironde), near Bordeaux, has become the official filming location of the show. M6 Top Chef Objective.
In this show derived from Top chef, the Bordeaux chef Philippe Etchebest brings together apprentice cooks around local products, the winner integrating the following season of Top chef. The filming of the seventh season began in early June at La Lagune, and should end around mid-July for a broadcast scheduled for October. Some 108 candidates have come forward this year at the start line. “Currently, we are really in the final stages, in the moment when the place in Top chef will decide, ”explains Pierre-Henri Guillemot, head of partnerships at Studio 89 Productions, a subsidiary of M6.
The production fell under the spell of this 16th century charterhouse
But how did this estate, located in AOC Haut-Médoc, end up as the main setting for this famous culinary show? “At the very beginning, Philippe Etchebest did his casting throughout France and met the candidates at home, before filming the final stages in the Parisian suburbs, explains Pierre-Henri Guillemot. But these shoots monopolize a lot of time, and the chef wanted to refocus on his Bordeaux restaurant. We then thought about moving our place of decoration to the Bordeaux region. “
The production team is interested in different castles. Then she contacted Stéphane Morin, butler at La Lagune, in 2018. During the scouting, she fell in love with this 16th century charterhouse. “For various reasons, our facilities are very well suited to filming the show, in particular our vat room for certain selection and tasting events, or our magnificent cuisine, which has proven to be an asset in allowing the guest starred chefs to present their different recipes for candidates, ”explains owner and oenologist Caroline Frey.
“The world of catering and that of wine are totally linked”
But it is above all the gardens of the estate, open to the 120 hectares of vines of this third Grand Cru Classé 1855, certified organic since 2016, which have finally convinced the production. The majority of the filming ofTop Chef Objective takes place outdoors, among other things to stand out from the decor of Top chef. “The diversity of the outdoor locations of La Lagune allows us to organize all of our shoots there, apart from the casting part which is carried out in another location,” continues Pierre-Henri Guillemot.
Today, “La Lagune has become the identity of the show”, rejoices the head of partnerships. And this highlighting “gives the estate a very beautiful visual for many weeks, appreciates Caroline Frey. The world of catering and that of wine are totally linked ”.
Culinary lives on social networks
And if La Lagune, unlike other prestigious Medoc châteaux, has not had a restaurant open to the public, Caroline Frey emphasizes that the “superb original cuisine of the estate allows us to receive and organize events. numerous internal meals and to introduce our wines with the presence of our Canadian chef Catherine Stewart ”, who was part of Joël Robuchon’s teams in London.
“We are talking about excellence in Top Chef Objective, so shooting in a cru of excellence corresponds to us ”, abounds Pierre-Henri Guillemot. And the story between La Lagune and the show is far from lasting only a month and a half a year. Several culinary lives with candidates are regularly organized on the domain’s social networks.