About
Born in Belgium in 1997, I stayed there until I was 21. I studied in Brussels and then moved to Canada for my Master's degree. After falling in love with the country and staying for four years, I decided to return to Europe in December 2022. I needed to take some time to step back, reflect and above all, listen to myself and redefine what the concepts of career and normality meant to me. Therefore I headed off to Paris, to Le Cordon Bleu, to learn the basics of cooking and plunge myself into the very heart of what makes me feel good: working with the product. A real revelation, this period of my life was one of enormous professional and personal growth. Following this reorientation, I left for Spain, where I was inspired and trained in plant-based patisserie by plant-based chef Toni Rodriguez (Barcelona). This experience proved to me, once again, the infinite possibilities of a plant-based cuisine, aligned with my values and aspirations. I then moved to the Netherlands and worked at Restaurant De Nieuwe Winkel (**), which taught me a lot in terms of fermentation and R&D. Having always had a fascination for Nordic countries, I packed my bags again and moved to Helsinki (Finland), to work for a few months at Grön (*) and immerse myself in a cuisine based around wild gathering. ​Always keen on new experiences, I continued to pursue my dreams and take paths, too unconventional for most, moving to Yssingeaux (France), to the École Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie (Ducasse School), to train in chocolate making, a field that has always fascinated me for its precision and science. This path led me to complete two internships, one at the Louis Vuitton chocolate factory (Louis Vuitton by Maxime Frédéric, Paris), and the second at Astral chocolat (Lille, France). ​Very interested in the science of food and R&D, I started training with an online course from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. I'm currently pursuing a new professional certificate in the field.
But my roots also take place in the continent under me,
Therefore, my blood is like a map of the Mediterranean Sea,
Golden burning sun, impossible to walk free,
My ancestors had to fight through the fifties,
No wonder why I am attached to the word liberty.
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And I will forever represent that paradox in me,
Two cultures, one sea,
That's probably when I lost my sense of identity,
I often recall that dichotomy.
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Mediterranean Sea, Mehdi Labed, 2025
View on food
As Saint-Exupéry said, "The stars are set alight in heaven so that one day each one of us may find his own again". It is a part of my story. Cooking. Honoring what earth gave me/ the vegetables/ the fruits/ the flowers/ the plants/ the water/ the soil/ the seaweeds. I can not name all of them. But I remind myself that I was created by the same energies as them. We are whole. My power is to celebrate those beauties. And eventually, make people happy. With a smile on their face. Make people feel seen. Just like when someone notices your new shirt on or your fresh haircut. Just like when your friend finds the right words when you are going through a heartbreak.
Food is a part of our history, our present and our future. It shapes the humans we are. With our highs and lows. With our mistakes, our pains, and our beautiful days. Food highlights the problems we are facing as a society. The injustice, discrimination and the waste of it all. When you think this way, food is power.
Food keeps your memories alive. Your birthday cakes when you turned eight years old. The smell of fresh strawberries during summer 97’. Buttery popcorn on a Sunday matinee. Street food flashbacks of your trip to Asia. The odor of a hot coffee on your way to Uni and the anxiety that comes with it. The crisp of that croissant you had on your first date. Your first fine dining experience. Fresh bread baked at 3am. Hot chocolate on Christmas Day. The first bite of a lacto-fermented asparagus. The mouthfeel that comes when you experiment with strong miso.
Food is a reminder of the path we choose to take each day. It’s a reminder of the people who come into our lives for a chapter or two and with whom we share a story. Food can be a way to hurt yourself. A reason to escape all the mirrors in your room.
Food and people are built around paradoxes that are often difficult to understand. It is filled with nuances that are worth exploring further. I decided to build my life around food and people. And as imperfect as this might be, I am building something. Each day. Every day. It’s something beautiful that I would like to share.
Influences
Like any body of art, I think a person's influences speak volumes about his or her work, thoughts and reflections. When I started cooking, I thought my inspirations had to be purely culinary. I thought I had to know all the restaurants on the 50 List, and have a list of chefs who inspire me on a daily basis. This works for some chefs, but not for me. I think my primary inspirations lie either in nature or in pop culture. Pop culture is often considered too light-hearted, but it's been a huge source of ideas for me ever since I was a child. I'm a great advocate of the idea that no culture/art/music/film is superior to another, and that it's important to experience the art that speaks to you most, to study it, to understand it, to experiment with it.
I find a lot of help and creativity in music and am fascinated by the way artists construct an album from start to finish. The sounds, the lyrics, the overt and hidden messages, the visual experience offered by video clips. As much an escape as a means of concentration, music acts as a vector for understanding our own emotions and life experiences. These are more universal than we think, bearing witness to our brief presence on this planet and in this universe.
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​Photography and video production are also great passions of mine, both in terms of consumption and creation. The graphic arts world really speaks to me, and I love the creativity that can be expressed in these fields.
As for my relationship with cinema, it's a growing one. It's only recently that it really began, and has been nurtured by various films. Always intimidated by the idea that some films HAD to be seen, and others were not worth the detour, I distanced myself from this art form, which today nourishes and teaches me enormously. Immersing myself in a parallel world for a brief moment, experiencing new sensations and evacuating certain disturbing thoughts.
I've been interested in architecture and design for years, and I love the way it expresses the term “Home”. Specific to each person, each country, each soul, I see this feeling translated by heights, materials, light effects and lengths. All the more touched by the subject during my professional experience in Helsinki, Finland, I have a strong feeling for the work of Alvar Aalto (1898-1976).
Fashion is also a great source of inspiration. I've always seen it as a direct means of expression and a real personal statement. But I think it goes much deeper than that. I like the way a collection is organized, by season, giving the designer the right to reinvent himself and take artistic directions when he wants to. To have the freedom to reclaim one's art, one's history, one's visions.
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Like a human relationship, my affinities with other channels of inspiration are changing and growing. I am still understanding them, studying them, and analyzing them.
Nature & harvesting
I've always considered myself close to nature, and have done so from an early age. As a child, I loved playing barefoot, touching the earth and swimming in the river. Nature gave me a sense of reconnection. Reconnecting with what really matters, freeing myself from superficiality, getting back to basics. And the more I grow, the more vital this reconnection becomes. Reclaiming our vibrations and honoring this planet that offers us a place to live, grow and evolve.
I've also recently discovered a passion for respectful picking. When we observe the plants, trees and flowers that surround us, an infinite number of possibilities open up. It's about taking the definition of food and the supermarket out of the equation, and accepting the gifts that nature offers us. I love what foraging implies. In a world where everything has to go faster, where we want everything, right away, where we can get any ingredient, anywhere, foraging teaches us patience and care. You can't get elderflowers in January, and you can't get spruce buds in September either. Nature has to be understood, studied and experienced.
This practice is also a way for me to get closer to my goals in terms of sustainability. While the subject is vast and I understand it a little more every day, it's certain that my responsibility as a chef is to make conscious choices about each food item every day, and to use my creativity to waste as little as possible; restaurants like Silo, in London, inspire me a lot on the subject of food waste. Every day is an opportunity to be just a little bit better.