Etchebest's father owned a restaurant in
Bordeaux and his family lived above the restaurant. In his youth, he played rugby for the
Bègles-Bordeaux rugby club and practised judo. At the age of fifteen, he chose to pursue a career in catering over professional rugby. Etchebest trained at the Talence Bordeaux culinary school. By the age of 22 he was second chef de cuisine at the Paris restaurant
Clos Longchamps, and moved on to
Jardins de l'Opéra in Toulouse in 1992. He subsequently became head chef at Château Grand Barrail, where he stayed for five years and where, in 2000, he was named
Meilleur Ouvrier de France. The restaurant already held a Michelin star which he retained, and added a second star in 2008. Etchebest prefers to know as little as possible in advance about each restaurant visited in the show in order to keep his reactions spontaneous. Since 2015, he also is a member of the jury in
Top Chef's French adaptation, aired on
M6. In 2025, Etchebest was featured as the Replacer in the French ads for
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. ==Personal life==