Diaspora & Tomy Gousset: French cuisine told with a Cambodian accent

Born in Cambodia and raised in France from the age of three, Tomy Gousset has become one of the most endearing chefs on the Parisian food scene. At the helm of three addresses in the French capital — Tomy & Co, Hugo & Co and Marso & Co — he cultivates a generous bistronomic cuisine, built on vegetables he grows himself and on a career path that was never a straight line.

Tomy Gousset, French-Cambodian chef — Facebook photo

Cambodia before Paris

Tomy Gousset was born in Cambodia and moved to France with his family at the age of three. It was there, with no family background in the restaurant trade, that he found his calling relatively late: he did not step into a kitchen until the age of twenty-three, after training at the École Ferrandi. A late start for such a demanding profession, but one that never stopped him from climbing the ranks of some of the most respected houses in French gastronomy.

Training in the great houses

The young cook learned his craft under Alain Solivérès at Taillevent, then under Yannick Alléno at Le Meurice, two triple-starred tables that instilled in him the rigour and precision of high French gastronomy. He rounded out his training with Antoine Beaumann at Maison Rostang, before trying his luck in New York in Daniel Boulud's kitchens. That demanding American experience marked a turning point in his career. Back in France, it was ultimately the restaurant Pirouette, near Les Halles in Paris, that gave him his chance: he ran its kitchen for four successful years.

Tomy & Co, a bet on simplicity

In 2016, Tomy Gousset took the leap and opened his own restaurant, Tomy & Co, just steps from Rue Saint-Dominique in Paris's 7th arrondissement. His cuisine, bistronomic and generous, relies on organic vegetables grown in the Essonne, not far from the Château de Courances, and on local sourcing he champions with pride. His philosophy comes down to a phrase he likes to repeat: "simplicity and sophistication." Right from its opening, the restaurant won the Tremplin award from Le Chef magazine, followed in 2017 by the Lebey award for best starter. In 2019 came the crowning achievement: a star in the Michelin Guide, recognition that honours both the chef's technical mastery and the personality he brings to every plate.

One of the chef's creations, blending careful presentation with seasonal produce — Facebook photo

Hugo & Co and Marso & Co: the bistro spirit multiplied

Building on this success, Tomy Gousset opened Hugo & Co in the Latin Quarter, a bistro with a cosmopolitan, sharing-plates menu that draws as much on Japanese cuisine as on reinvented French classics. The restaurant was named Bistro of the Year in 2019, the same year the chef opened a third address, Marso & Co. Within a few years, Tomy Gousset had become the face of a small constellation of Parisian restaurants, all marked by the same demand for freshness and conviviality, yet each with its own identity.

A French-Cambodian chef who owns his roots

While his cooking remains resolutely French in its technique, Tomy Gousset has never hidden how much his Cambodian origins shape his approach to the profession. His journey echoes that of many children of the Khmer diaspora in France: a success built far from his native country, yet one that never forgets its trace. Now recognised by his peers and praised by food critics, Tomy Gousset continues to make his Parisian tables a place where gourmets, tourists and regulars all cross paths, coming to taste a cuisine that, as he likes to put it, puts his "karma" at the service of flavour.

In his own words

Interviewed by the magazine Yonder in 2017, shortly after Tomy & Co opened, the chef looked back on his unconventional path: a year of business school, another at the Assas faculty, before a television report on the École Ferrandi sparked his vocation at age 22. Recalling his arrival at Daniel Boulud's restaurant in New York, after his training at Taillevent and Le Meurice, he laughingly admitted that

"being Cambodian and tattooed, I didn't really fit the cliché of the French chef," far from the standard image of the French cook.

He also spoke of the origin of his restaurant's name — the "& co" referring both to his wife Constance and to the spirit of collaboration with his team — as well as his relationship with his former mentor Alain Solivérès, whom he considers a father figure in the trade. Asked about the place of his Cambodian origins in his cooking, he explained that he allows himself a few discreet nods, such as the use of lychee, tapioca or coriander, without seeking to claim a French-Asian or fusion cuisine, his culinary culture remaining French above all. (Source: Yonder, interview by Mathieu Belay, March 2017.)

A glimpse of the menu

The menu at Tomy & Co changes with the seasons, but it always keeps the generous, creative signature that built the chef's reputation. Signature dishes include ricotta gnocchi with girolles in vin jaune, guanciale and spinach butter; a veal tartare with gribiche sauce and smoked herring; and octopus with marinated salmon, almond and garlic cream. Main courses include herb-crusted lamb with eggplant caviar, or roasted pigeon with girolles and apricots. The more accessible "Parisian" lunch menu offers, for instance, a soft-boiled egg with parsnip cream followed by roasted guinea fowl with truffled mashed potatoes. For dessert, strawberries and figs with kadaif or Ossau-Iraty cheese with black cherry jam round out the meal with the same demand for freshness and seasonality.

Official website: tomygousset.com