Camille Delcroix, a top chef in Saint-Omer

I imagine my story here!

Camille Delcroix Maison Du Marais © Tourisme En Pays De Saint Omer (10) Min

Camille Delcroix (winner of season 9 of Top Chef) has chosen Saint-Omer, in the Hauts-de-France region, to create his first gourmet restaurant. Seduced by the town’s history, the beauty of its heritage and the richness of its marshland, he offers you a gourmet journey. At his table, you’ll discover the finesse and creativity of a cuisine rooted in the terroir of the Audomarois marshlands.

Saint-Omer, un coup de cœur

Camille Delcroix is originally from Valenciennes, but love tipped his heart to Saint-Omer. Carla Loxemand, his partner in the Bacôve adventure, is from Auvergne. An opportunity for our region! It didn’t take long for the young chef to grasp just how much of an asset the town on the edge of France’s last market garden marsh was to his cuisine. “In the marsh there’s an incredible biotope, extraordinary local producers 30 km around. 35 market gardeners work as they used to, on 4,000 ha,” explains the winner of Top Chef 2018.

Camille Delcroix Maison Du Marais © Tourisme En Pays De Saint Omer (8) Min

Camille Delcroix Maison Du Marais © Tourisme En Pays De Saint Omer (3) Min

A success story

Camille Delcroix is the story of his culinary ascent. Raised on a taste for local produce by his father, a craftsman butcher, pork butcher and caterer in the Valenciennois region, he began his career at Le Musigny restaurant in Valenciennes, where he earned his first star. This was followed by a two-star experience at Marc Meurin’s Château de Beaulieu. 9 years of continuous learning, emulation and happiness. He entered Top Chef with the kindness of the great chef. A media adventure from which he emerges a winner and darling in the hearts of the French, seduced by his kindness and talent.

After top chef, he chose
Le marais, his jardin de cocagne

Exploited over some 400 hectares, the marsh employs some thirty market gardeners, producing around 50 different vegetables (mainly endive, cauliflower and carrots). Cauliflower, with its three and a half million heads per year, remains the jewel in the crown of the marsh. The brouckaillers, or market gardeners, perpetuate a tradition that has been part of the region’s identity since the Middle Ages. Camille Delcroix loves these values of local produce, hard work and quality. It’s with them that he’ll be sourcing to put freshness and local produce on your plates.

Restaurant Bacôve Cuisine Camille Delcroix Saint Omer 2021 © Tourisme En Pays De Saint Omer (27) Min

Focus on regional gastronomy

His gastronomic and classic cuisine, inspired by the North and brought up to date, starts with the season and local produce. Camille Delcroix enjoys revisiting the family culinary repertoire of a tasty terroir. This jack-of-all-trades excels with both meat and vegetables. His new menus include cheeses from Ferme Audomaroise, genever from Houlle, draff from Brasserie du Pays flamand, herring from JC David, trout from Affringues, scallops from Boulonnaise and Douais black garlic from Potdevin-Caron: products of excellence “from a region that continues to rise on the French gastronomic scene.”