How Emmanuel Pilon keeps evolving Alain Ducasse's iconic Le Louis XV
Le Louis XV - Alain Ducasse has held three Michelin stars for the vast majority of the time since the now world-renowned chef opened it inside Monaco's Hôtel de Paris, almost four decades ago.
In 1987, Prince Rainier III gave Alain an almost impossible brief: win three stars within four years.
He did it in 33 months, and Le Louis XV, on the Place du Casino, just metres from the Mediterranean, has been one of the most recognisable names in fine dining ever since.
Continuing that story today are chef Emmanuel Pilon, who returned to lead the kitchen in May 2022 after first working under Alain there in 2009, and restaurant director Giovanni Pitton, whose own connection to Le Louis XV began years before he ever set foot in its kitchen.
An impossible challenge: three stars in 33 months
“Chef Ducasse went through different spaces and rooms within the Société des Bains de Mer (SBM) property before choosing this room to start writing his history,” Giovanni said.
“It's situated in the heart of Monaco, facing the casino square. It became a must-try place, somewhere to visit at least once in a lifetime.”
Le Louis XV won its third Michelin star in 1990, at the time the fastest a restaurant had ever reached the top rating.
It has held three stars for most of the years since, with two short gaps (regaining a third in 1998, then again in 2003 after briefly dropping to two). Its wine cellar runs to around 400,000 bottles, beneath a dining room of gilding and frescoes under a Belle Époque ceiling.
“To imagine achieving that today is something very complex,” Emmanuel said.
“You have to think first about yourself, about your customers, about what you want to put in place, and the rest will come automatically. You shouldn't put pressure on yourself telling yourself you have to have three stars as quickly as possible. That's not something that can work.”
From Lyon to the Riviera: Emmanuel's path back to Le Louis XV
“I'm from Lyon, where the cooking is a bit more classic, more traditional,” Emmanuel said.
“My path meant I started at a one-star restaurant, Christian Têtedoie, then I had the chance to go to the Villa Florentine, with Davy Tissot, where we were working with a much more contemporary style of cooking.
“But when I arrived at Le Louis XV, at Alain Ducasse's, in 2009, it was a completely different kind of cooking. It takes a little time to soak it in and understand the chef's philosophy, so that you can then deliver it yourself.”
Emmanuel spent five years in that first spell at Le Louis XV, working under chefs Franck Cerutti and Dominique Lory, before moving in 2014 to Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée in Paris, where he worked alongside chef Romain Meder as the restaurant developed its naturalité philosophy: an approach built on seasonality, provenance and ingredient-led cooking.
“When I came back in 2022, there was an evolution that had taken place in the kitchen, somewhat in step with what was happening around the world too, because of the experience I gained at the Plaza Athénée,” Emmanuel said.
“The chef's idea was to keep evolving the restaurant day by day. When I arrived, I was lucky. Things were already in place.
“The chef trusted me and pushed me to carry forward this new vision of cooking that leans towards naturalité. We keep this evolution going, constant and ongoing day by day, at Le Louis XV.”
The philosophy of naturalité
“Naturalité is a philosophy, a way of thinking and acting day to day in the kitchen,” Emmanuel explained.
“For us, it's about respecting the produce, the seasonality, the producers, showcasing produce that we don't necessarily showcase every day.
“Cooking in a three-star restaurant is definitely a privilege. You have to be aware of that.
“But I actually forbid myself from thinking about it every day, letting it become something that weighs on you or holds back what you want to do day to day.
"You have to set aside the weight of the stars, the rankings, all of that, and tell yourself that today, we're lucky to be at Le Louis XV, in an exceptional setting, with exceptional produce.
“Le Louis XV is an institution. It’s up to us to grow it, while keeping its foundations.”
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Giovanni sees the same instinct at work in Emmanuel.
“Chef Emmanuel is a very curious person,” he said.
“His main goal is trying to discover new flavours: what can be done if you mix this and this. We have a lot of jars where, when a product comes out of season, he'll put it in there to ferment, without any specific idea of what he's going to do with it.
“He's just going to keep that memory of the taste in his mind, and reuse it maybe months later.”
Emmanuel insists the restaurant deliberately does not have a ‘signature dish’, in keeping with Alain’s forward-thinking philosophy.
“It's about not putting up barriers, and keeping a certain curiosity, to keep going out and looking, all the time, constantly, for new things,” the chef said.
It's a mindset with deep roots at Le Louis XV.
“The cuisine here is avant-garde compared to the market overall,” Giovanni said.
“But it's always been like that. In 1987, when Mr Ducasse put one full vegetarian menu on the offering, it was already avant-garde. The restaurant is just following the same DNA since the beginning.”
The artichoke, sea anemone and caviar
Nowhere is that philosophy clearer than in a dish built around a single Provence artichoke, twice-fried, stuffed with a sea anemone filling and finished with caviar and a roasted artichoke jus.
“Sea anemone isn't a product that's very valued or showcased, that we don't work with much, which isn't simple to work with, having very strong flavours,” Emmanuel said.
“You have to find the right balance. We just add that touch of caviar, enough to bring some salinity, and it works more as a condiment than just to look pretty.”
Giovanni sees the dish's effect from the dining room.
“It symbolises the reinterpretation of local flavours: an artichoke from Provence, stuffed with sea anemone, deep-fried for crispiness, topped with caviar and finished with a roasted artichoke sauce and mint oil,” he said.
“He loves to create positive confusion. In the way that dish looks and tastes, you can't help but think it's some kind of meaty dish, pigeon, beef, wild boar. But actually, it's a 100% vegetarian dish. That was the goal: to make a dish that looks and tastes like meat, without using any protein.”
Giovanni Piton: a personal connection to the room
Giovanni's own history with Le Louis XV started long before he worked there.
“My story with the restaurant started years before I actually started working here, 11 years ago,” he said.
“I was working as a commis in a Michelin-star restaurant in Nice. During one of my days off, I came with my mother here in Monaco. I remember showing her the restaurant by the casino, and telling her it was my dream to go there. A couple of years later I started working here, and I remember my first day, I was very proud to be part of the team.”
From there, his career followed Alain Ducasse's own restaurants abroad. “Mr Ducasse gave me the opportunity to open his restaurant in Singapore,” Giovanni said. “A couple of years later I moved to Bangkok, Thailand, still working for Mr Ducasse. Last year I came back as director here. It's a very important restaurant for me. I have a very strong emotional connection with it.”
That history shapes how he now runs the dining room.
“We have quite a unique approach to service, because of the room, which is quite classical,” he said.
“We want to create a contrast: a very young team with a lot of energy, working towards a personalised service. Customers are really impressed when we open the door, and they feel the pressure of the room, so we work hard to make them feel comfortable.”
Le Louis XV operates with a chef team of 15, and runs five dinner services and two lunches from Tuesday to Saturday, seating around 30 to 35 covers, rising to as many as 50 in peak summer once the terrace opens.
What true luxury means at Le Louis XV
Both Emmanuel and Giovanni return to the same idea when asked what actually separates a three-Michelin-star restaurant from any other kind of luxury.
“The real richness of a three-star restaurant, for me, is the attention you give to the guest, the experience you make them live through,” Emmanuel said.
“True luxury today is living a unique experience that you won't live again anywhere else.”
“I always tell my team that at the end of the day, we are not saving lives,” Giovanni added.
“We are just giving food. But we have the opportunity to make someone's day better. I believe a restaurant is maybe the last place where, just for a couple of hours, you can escape from that world.”
That idea extends to who the restaurant is for. “I don't want the restaurant to be only for a certain type of person,” Giovanni said. “We have such a mix of customers, from businessmen to people who save money for years to come here once. We just want to create some lifetime memories. That's the only thing that matters.”
Four years into leading the kitchen, Emmanuel is clear the story isn't finished. “It's a living restaurant, nothing is fixed,” he said. “Four years, but we don't yet know how much longer, how far it can go.”
Le Louis XV - Alain Ducasse à l'Hôtel de Paris: key facts
Chef: Emmanuel Pilon, chef since May 2022
Restaurant director: Giovanni Pitton
Restaurant: Le Louis XV - Alain Ducasse à l'Hôtel de Paris
Location: Hôtel de Paris, Place du Casino, Monte-Carlo, Monaco
Concept: Mediterranean, ingredient-led cuisine built on the "naturalité" philosophy: seasonality, provenance and showcasing under-used produce Michelin stars: three, held since 1990 with two short gaps (regained 1998, regained for good in 2003)
Opened: May 1987, reaching three stars within 33 months
Wine cellar: around 400,000 bottles
Service: Tuesday to Saturday, five dinner services and two lunches (Friday and Saturday only)
Capacity: 30 to 35 covers, up to 50 in peak summer with the terrace open
Kitchen team: 15, including four in pastry
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