The Brief
A Taste of Perfection:
The Culinary Art of Dominique Gauthier
Michelin-starred Chef Dominique Gauthier is a visionary in the world of haute cuisine, renowned for his artistry, precision, and dedication to excellence. As the driving force behind Le Chat-Botté at the iconic Beau-Rivage Genève, he and his team craft unforgettable fine-dining experiences, blending innovation with tradition. With a deep respect for seasonal ingredients and a mastery of French gastronomy, Chef Gauthier transforms every dish into a masterpiece, ensuring that each moment at Le Chat-Botté is nothing short of extraordinary.
The brief called for restaurant photography that could stand alongside the cooking itself: chef portraiture with the same precision as a plated dish, a dining room photographed for atmosphere rather than inventory, and behind-the-scenes access to a Michelin kitchen at full service. As a restaurant and hospitality photographer, that meant working around service hours, not against them, in one of Geneva’s most recognised dining rooms.
The Approach
Portraiture worthy of a Michelin star
Photographing a chef of Dominique Gauthier’s standing is portrait photography first, food photography second. The brief asked for images that carried his authority in the kitchen: composed, unhurried, shot in the working space rather than a studio, so the Michelin star reads as something earned in that room rather than borrowed for the camera.
Le Chat-Botté at the iconic Beau-Rivage Genève
Le Chat-Botté occupies the ground floor of Beau-Rivage Genève, one of the oldest independent hotels in Switzerland. The dining room photography needed to hold both truths at once: a restaurant with its own Michelin identity, and a room that belongs to a 19th-century hotel with a history of its own. Light, table setting and the view toward the lake all had to read as part of a single, considered space.
Chef's Table - an exclusive culinary experience
Behind the dining room sits the Chef’s Table, where guests join the kitchen brigade for a behind-the-scenes view of service. Photographing it meant working inside a live kitchen during real service: capturing the precision behind each dish, the choreography of a brigade at full pace, and the moment a plate leaves the pass, without staging a single frame.
The Result
The shoot produced a complete photographic library for Le Chat-Botté, now in use across Beau-Rivage Genève’s website, press materials and social channels — chef portraiture, dining room atmosphere and Chef’s Table access that together position the restaurant as what its Michelin star already says it is: one of Geneva’s defining fine-dining addresses.
As with every luxury hospitality project we take on, the photography had to serve two audiences at once: guests deciding where to book, and press covering a Michelin-starred kitchen. The same library speaks to both.
Chef portraiture — Dominique Gauthier
Dining room atmosphere and table settings
Plated dishes and culinary detail
Chef’s Table: kitchen brigade in service
Restaurant and hotel architecture
High-resolution files for press, web and social
