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After going through many hardships, he is now a recognized starred chef. For Brut, Olivier Roellinger agrees to confide in his past and explains how this was a motivation to get into the kitchen.
“Life is a gift. Sometimes she is cruel and difficult, but it is still a gift. So you have to take it head on.” Abandoned by his father at the age of 12, beaten up and left for dead at the age of 21, the life of three-starred chef Olivier Roellinger has not always been easy. But these hardships have changed his perception of the world and pushed him to realize his dreams.
“I have had many troubles in my life. But I succeeded, I was lucky enough to be able to overcome them. Life, taste it to the fullest and take it in your arms.“Three-star chef Olivier Roellinger has endured many difficult times. Very young, he knows the abandonment of his father, when he is only 12 years old. “He wanted to live another life. Then I refused to meet the one who had taken my mother’s place, so much so that we no longer spoke at that time. He could see me, but we no longer said hello. There were no more birthdays, there were no more Christmases. There was nothing left. And it lasted more than 35 years.”
About ten years later, he suffered a new trauma: an attempted homicide committed by a gang of 5 young boys. He is beaten up and left for dead by his attackers. “5 young boys beat me up. I will find myself totally massacred: triple fracture of the left leg, double fracture of the right leg, fractured pelvis, fracture of the skull… And there, I was very quickly made to understand that I was not sure to walk again one day .“Despite several days in a coma and a wheelchair, Olivier Roellinger has not lost hope. Comforted by his relatives around dinners, he understood at this time his interest in cooking. “This happiness that we had achieved at the table with these buddies, these girlfriends, these smiles, these perfumes, these shares. I say to myself: ‘Happiness is on the table.‘”