Meeting with chef Axel Delordre

Chef Axel Delordre has been head chef at the Radisson Blu Nantes hotel since 2023. With over 10 years' experience cooking around the world, he now treats the taste buds of guests at the Dans le Noir ? Nantes restaurant, also located within the Radisson Blu. We tell you more about his background, how he sees this challenge, and his secrets for delighting you in total darkness.

Please introduce yourself. What's your background?

I'm 33 years old and I've been in the hotel-restaurant business for about ten years. I have a BTS in culinary arts, tableware and service, which I obtained in Paris on a sandwich course. I then worked in the kitchen in Paris, moved to Auckland in New Zealand, then to Mayotte for a few years, and finally came back to France to settle in Nantes.

How would you describe your culinary style?

I'd say my style is one of perpetual construction. I like to compose with the products I have around me. I don't want any unnecessary elements on the plate, but I want every ingredient to contribute to the whole. I'd like to work with more wild produce if I could. I also like (as do many chefs these days) to take an ingredient out of its usual context and put it in a place where it's not normally expected. For example, vegetables for dessert, which you'll find on the Dans le Noir ? menus. But it could also be fruit to accompany fish, shellfish or meat, often raw.

For the past 7 years, the Dans le Noir ? Nantes restaurant has been at the Radisson Blu, and you are the chef behind this particular concept. How do you see this challenge?

The challenge lies very much in reconciling our desires as cooks, to do original things without destabilizing our customers, who don't always have the same expectations as we do. Satisfying the curious while retaining a pleasant or comforting experience for the majority, many of whom have been offered the same experience and are therefore looking for a sensory rather than a gustatory adventure.

A dish can be enormously pleasing in the light for someone who knows and can see what they are eating, and disorienting in the dark, as sensations are exacerbated, tasting is random, and certain elements or sensations can quickly take over. This is particularly true of desserts. So it's a real challenge to find the right balance.

How do you adapt to customers' allergies/intolerances?

More and more, we're trying to think ahead about the vegetarian option. We don't want to deprive ourselves of certain allergenic ingredients on our menus, to the detriment of all our customers. On the whole, we adapt upstream, listing the main allergies and defining substitute foods while respecting the basic idea of the dish.

What's your favorite restaurant in Nantes?

Morfal is a restaurant that takes up the idea of Eyal Shani's Miznon restaurant (a street food concept with a strong identity: simple, unique, relevant, convivial, super-fresh produce, minute preparation, wonderful!) It's a simple restaurant, very good and affordable. It's the kind of cuisine I love and could eat every day.

Finally, what does Dans le Noir ? mean to you?

In the dark: DLN represents for me a creative and research space where I can enjoy myself and experiment with ideas on a large number of people, who will have no choice but to trust me blindly 😉

- To discover chef Axel Delordre's cuisine, book now.

- Every Friday and Saturday evening at Radisson Blu Nantes