“You don’t get something for nothing!”: Fanch Delanoe, the Breton in the kitchen at Kaempff-Kohler

At 43 years old, Fanch Delanoe takes a quick look back at a particularly diverse and inspiring culinary career. He’s seen a lot in gastronomy—and it’s far from over!

“For me, the apprenticeship was the defining stage because during my 3 years with Pascal Cochennec at Céline in Bruz, I not only learned the basics of the trade, but that period somehow opened my eyes. At the end of that experience, I knew what I wanted to do with my life.”

Fanch, the Breton, naturally spent the first years of his professional life in his home region.

Once his apprenticeship was complete, his refinement came through the tough school of Auberge Grand Maison, under Jaques Guillot, in Mur de Bretagne in the Côtes d’Armor.

This old-school Michelin-starred chef was known for his uncompromising standards: you cook there, but during the long working days you also sharpen knives, work the dishwashing station, polish the stove morning and evening, or take care of the floral decorations.

The young aspiring chef’s conclusion: “It was very tough, but it was worth it!”

After 2 years came the time to choose: the Martinez in Cannes or Luxembourg. Fanch took the second option and spent 5 years with Gérard Mathes in Ahn, before joining the Speltz establishment.

He opened “Sud” in Clausen under Christophe Petra, another Michelin-starred chef, before his transition to the take-away catering business Schumacher.

“It was a lifestyle choice, with hours that suited me and my family better. I started from scratch again with sandwiches to eventually get to hot food… and so once again to evening activities.”

In 2017, after 8 years, he joined Kaempff-Kohler, first as a cook, then as head of cold preparations, before becoming head chef in 2022.

Today he leads a brigade of 12 cooks and 2 dishwashers in the production workshop in Niederanven.

Cooking—a statement of faith

Fresh ingredients, premium quality, proximity (national brand beef, the neighboring mustard factory just a hundred meters from the workshops (to name just a few), Luxembourg products and reliable Luxembourg suppliers, namely La Provençale, Luxlait and Grosbusch)—these are the elements that form the foundation of Fanch Delanoe’s cooking and also of the Kaempff-Kohler identity.

“We support the local economy. I like working with seasonal and preferably local products—even though today customers are used to eating strawberries all year round. There are no more seasons, but I remain a devotee of asparagus and lamb in spring, mussels in July, game in autumn, and pumpkins in winter.”

Quality comes first: from the basic product, the way it’s prepared, to the presentation. The visual element is significant—everything must be “clean and neat” (quote Fanch Delanoe).

As for recipes, it’s about finding the right balance between traditional signature dishes

from Luxembourg, such as Riesling pâté, game and herrings, and new creations.

“Always guided by the idea of excellence and the best quality, we innovate constantly. For example, we make our own Scottish smoked salmon and gravlax. The fillets of these exceptional fish are prepared directly on site when they are caught.”

The chef has clearly understood that in the Kaempff-Kohler kitchen, in addition to obligations, there is great freedom of choice, which of course makes the cook’s professional life more interesting and stimulating.

A diverse range of activities

At Kaempff-Kohler, the chef works in take-away, event catering, and restaurant service. These are very different cooking styles, a real challenge to the imagination and expertise of the brigade.

Since the pandemic, new lifestyles, and the economic crisis that followed, take-away has taken an increasingly important place in gastronomy.

“We must offer traditional but also new quality products. Sandwiches, salads, bowls and the like must be designed to be consumed fairly easily at an affordable price ,” says the chef, “while taking into account healthy eating considerations and dietary requirements: vegetarian, vegan, and intolerances.”

Fanch Delanoe constantly listens to customers to understand their expectations and thus continually challenge himself.

In Take-Away, it’s important to follow trends; it’s a constant personal evolution with a requirement for daily creativity with the aim of the best value for money for the customer

Most of these principles also apply to the event catering side.

It’s a constant search for the best combination between the meal, its presentation, and an exceptional celebration venue.

With a slight shrug and a small smile on his lips, the chef admits:

“It’s my favorite exercise. For the major events we cater, I like to be on site myself with my team, as close as possible to the client to get immediate feedback. It’s very demanding in terms of workload, but all the more rewarding.”

Finally, there’s the “restaurant” menu, which offers more traditional dish choices that the chef must combine with original and sometimes slightly surprising creations.

Restaurant cooking, which reinvents itself every day, is strongly influenced by what the supplier has to offer at the moment.

The chef has successfully met the challenge of this particular exercise:

“Given that at Kaempff-Kohler the restaurant activity is mainly focused on lunchtime, with notably a daily special, we must take into account the availability of fresh products and the limited time customers give themselves to eat. So, priority goes to dishes that don’t take too long to prepare. But here again, the challenge is to present maximum quality at a reasonable price.”

The chef’s personality

Leading by good example, showing a continuous presence in the field with the sous-chefs—that’s one of the principles to follow to earn respect.

“I advocate rigor, high standards, but also teaching, because since Covid and new lifestyles, recruitment has become extremely complicated in gastronomy. I encourage young people to seize the opportunity of apprenticeship. It’s an excellent opportunity for training, progression, and opening up to life,” emphasizes the chef, who mentally reflects on his own apprenticeship that opened not only the doors to the profession.

For Fanch Delanoe, constant self-questioning, refusing to rest on one’s laurels, continuous evolution, and stimulating creativity through ongoing training, internships, openness to the world with always an attentive eye on new trends, but also on competitors’ activities, are the elixirs of professional well-being.

“I would do it again, but I would try to see more countries, to work more abroad before settling down permanently”—and the little smile at the corner of his mouth becomes a big smile on the face of the chef who is always in a good mood.