Chef Alan Geaam

When Alan first arrived in France two decades ago, he was homeless and worked as a dishwasher. It was only when the cook at the restaurant he was working at slashed his hand that Alan stepped in to help out—and with great success. The self-taught chef started cooking while doing his national service in Lebanon, where the colonel of his regiment became so impressed he made Alan his personal chef. Alan’s namesake restaurant just a stone’s throw away from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, Alan Geaam, received its first Michelin star in 2018. The French Lebanese chef whips up original recipes that combine French culinary heritage with Lebanese tastes.