Just a short distance from the Franco-Swiss border and 15 minutes from the centre of Geneva, Le Rectiligne has ambitions to become one of the gastronomic highlights of the Pays de Gex area. It’s worth pointing out that Bruno Tucheu, the restaurant’s chef, has an impressive CV.

Originally from the Béarn region, he was a pupil under Pierre Gagnaire in Saint-Étienne before continuing his training at the Juana in Juan-les-Pins, at Le Gourmandin in Lyon and at the Eden Roc in Ajaccio. A career path that’s also seen short periods in Saint-Martin and Saint-Barth, in the French ~West Indies, and at Bergen in Norway. However, he finally put away his suitcases to settle in Ferney-Voltaire where he opened the Chanteclerc in 1999. I wanted to extend the restaurant but I was refused planning permission, so I sold the business and came to live in Divonne where I opened Le Rectiligne in March 2007 .

Located on the shores of Lac de Divonne, and with a terrace that is right on the water’s edge, the restaurant focuses on current gastronomic trends and seasonal cooking offering, for example, dishes and desserts cooked using nitrogen with a view to surprise and amaze our clients . Le Rectiligne has already been visited by inspectors from the main restaurant guides and is sure to be given excellent ratings. Using the best local produce, the restaurant can serve up to 100 covers inside and the same number again on the terrace if the weather is fine, usually individual clients.

However, the rest of the year, almost half of the restaurant’s business comes from conferences. This business is particularly important for us, agrees Bruno Tucheu. Several accommodation providers in the vicinity, such as the Villa du Lac and Home Business, are set up for business tourism groups and they send us clients. The same goes for the Domaine de Divonne and the Château de Divonne which is where my wife Sophie used to work .

Le Rectiligne offers companies the choice of several packages n n. At midday, lunch costs between 23 and 28 € whilst in the evening prices start at 35 € up to 60 € for the tasting menu. Bruno Tucheu also offers a supplement of 22 € to match dishes with wines, and his cellar houses 180 different labels ! Since the restaurant is close to Switzerland, the business clientele is unsurprisingly 60% Swiss, with Novartis and Sanofi regular customers together with several small businesses from the Pays de Gex and the rest coming from the Ain region. To make the most of his clients’ expectations when the weather is good, the Tucheu couple are looking to build a second outdoor terrace with a trendy summer bar…