Born by the Atlantic.
Shaped by its tides, its salt, its table.
Thomas Guérinet grew up on the Charente-Maritime coast — fishing boats at dawn, family meals built around whatever the sea gave that morning. Each summer, he returns to the island he knows by heart. No fixed menu. No catalogue. Just the market at first light, and whatever it offers that day — cooked for your table alone. From Saint-Martin to Ars-en-Ré, no corner of the island is too far.
"I didn't discover the Atlantic.
I grew up on its edge —
in its smell, at its table."
Thomas Guérinet grew up on the Charente-Maritime coast — La Rochelle, the estuary, the salt marshes just across the water from Île de Ré. His earliest memory of food is a boat at dawn. His father's fishing lines. The cold and the quiet and whatever was brought back to the kitchen by nine.
Each summer, he returns. Not to execute a menu planned in Paris — but to let the island decide. The market at Saint-Martin opens before the tourists. Thomas is there first. He tastes, chooses, and walks back with what the season is offering today. The menu is written on the way home.
When you hire Thomas on Île de Ré, you are not hiring a chef who has studied the island. You are sitting at the table of someone who belongs to it.
Book a consultationWhether you are here for a week or a long weekend, Thomas adapts entirely to your rhythm — early morning markets, lazy lunches, long dinners on the terrace. The island sets the tempo. He follows it.
Enquire about your datesYour dedicated chef for the full duration of your stay — breakfast, lunch, dinner and everything in between. Each morning Thomas sources fresh from the island's markets, and adapts the day's menu to the weather, your mood, and what the sea has given.
Villa chef Île de Ré · Chef à domicile · Full-stay private chef Charente-MaritimeA bespoke dinner experience delivered entirely to your villa — Michelin-level cuisine, full table service, kitchen left spotless. A birthday, an anniversary, or simply a night when you want your table to be the best on the island.
Private dinner Île de Ré · Chef for one evening · Bespoke dinner Atlantic coastTake a piece of the island home with you. Intimate private cooking classes for guests who want to learn the recipes of the Atlantic — oyster preparation, fish en papillote, a proper tarte aux pommes. For adults and families.
Private cooking class Île de Ré · French cooking lesson villa · Atlantic cuisineNo fixed menu. Every dish begins at the market — and ends at your table. What follows is not a catalogue. It is simply what a summer morning on Île de Ré can produce, in the hands of someone who grew up here.
Beef fillet · Fine dining
Gastronomic dinner · Atlantic
Duck · fig · red wine
Event catering · Île de Ré
"I cook the way I grew up eating —
whatever was good that morning,
made as well as I possibly can."
Outside the kitchen, Thomas is the first person at the market and the last to leave the table. He is not performing a concept. He is feeding people he cares about, in a place he loves, with ingredients he has known since childhood.
There is no fixed menu on Île de Ré. Thomas cooks what the market gives — and on this island, the market gives extraordinarily well. What follows is not a list of dishes. It is a list of what the island produces, season by season, stall by stall.
The market at Saint-Martin does not wait. Thomas is there before the tourists, before the heat, before the day has properly started. He returns with whatever was best that morning — and that becomes your menu. No catalogue. No compromise. Just what the island has to offer, today.
Half of Thomas's work on Île de Ré is events. Weddings in the salt marshes. Anniversary dinners in private gardens. Corporate receptions under the pines. No template, no catalogue — a menu and a service built entirely around your occasion and your guests.
The most common questions from international villa guests and families planning their stay on the island.
Yes. Thomas Guérinet offers full-stay villa chef engagements on Île de Ré — breakfast, lunch and dinner prepared daily at your property using ingredients sourced from local markets and producers each morning. Services are available for the full duration of your stay, however long.
There is no fixed menu. Thomas cooks what the market gives — oysters from Ars-en-Ré, Atlantic sole and sea bass landed daily, AOP island potatoes, Fleur de Sel de Ré hand-harvested from the salt marshes, and seasonal shellfish including mussels and tellines from the Atlantic coast.
Yes. Thomas can be booked for a single private dinner during your stay — a bespoke menu, full table service, and kitchen left spotless. Ideal for a special occasion or simply an evening when you want the very best. Available throughout the island.
Yes. Oviō provides full wedding catering and event services on Île de Ré — from intimate ceremonies of ten guests to large receptions. Thomas designs bespoke menus that reflect the terroir of the island and the character of your venue, with tasting sessions and full service coordination included.
Thomas serves the entire island — Saint-Martin-de-Ré, Ars-en-Ré, La Flotte, Saint-Clément-des-Baleines, Loix, Rivedoux-Plage, Le Bois-Plage and all surrounding areas. No surcharge for distance within the island.
Summer dates — particularly July and August — book quickly. We recommend enquiring at least four to six weeks in advance for peak season. Last-minute requests are always welcome for available dates outside the summer peak.
Yes. Every menu is written specifically for your group. Thomas accommodates all dietary requirements — vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, allergies and intolerances — as part of the initial free consultation. Nothing is assumed; everything is discussed in advance.
A private chef works exclusively at your property — sourcing, preparing, serving and cleaning up at your villa. Unlike a catering company, there are no pre-prepared dishes: every course is cooked on-site, on the day, for your table alone. The menu, the timing and the entire experience is shaped around you.
"No menu planned in advance.
Just the market, the tide,
and your table."
