Our ethos

Our
Story

Chateau Engalin owner and Creative Director Marwan Badran was born in Baghdad to a Lebanese/ Palestinian father & Indian/ Portuguese mother. He arrived in London in his teens and went on to complete a medical degree at University College London.

His passion for all things foodie led him to compete on Master Chef in 1993 where he reached the London finals. Marwan opened his Islington restaurant EUPHORIUM in 1995, a creative collaboration between himself and a stream of architects, graphic designers, furniture makers and artists – with food at its heart. It was immediately short listed for Time Out restaurant of the year award.

Two years later, Marwan launched EU- PHORIUM Bakery, which pioneered the ‘handmade on the premises’ baking revolution.

Marwan moved to Gascony in South West France in 2005 to establish Chateau Engalin a Culinary Utopian Retreat, hosting private and corporate events and wedding celebrations.
Simultaneously Marwan completed an Art post-grad at Goldsmiths University London and established his Food & ‘Other’ Art Foundation at Engalin.

Together his life partner Jeremy; Managing Director, of NorthStandard, invested 20 years of their lives creating Engalin, the brand, to present on the world stage. A place for curating togetherness with people from all over the world.