Cyrille Pannier was born in Le Mans, France, and grew up on a farmstead in Arnage.
His three-year apprenticeship there in one-Michelin-star restaurant Auberge des Mattfeux gave him as good a grounding in the rudiments of cooking as he could have hoped for. Pannier’s hobbies revolve around exploring and nature-based activities, including gardening, walking and, when in sunny climates, scuba diving. He even collects old cookery books from the 18th and 19th century and can often be found concocting weird and wonderful ancient recipes, most recently one for brewing beer from nettles.