The meaning of hospitality

Marc Esquerré | 4/11/25, 3:03 PM

From Alain Ducasse, whom we met recently to whom we spoke about Le Grand Monarque, this immediate question: "Are they still the Jallerats?" And that says it all! A house, a name, a history..

From father to son, from one generation to the next. the "Jallerats" have not only run the Grand Monarque as good fathers, but also as visionary business leaders, pushing the Chartres liner forward, steaming towards new horizons, new shores to conquer. steaming towards new horizons, new shores to conquer, in what remains the core value of this independent and emblematic hotel business: a human adventure.

Le Grand Monarque is one of those immutable French institutions that reassure visitors on weekends, vacations or business trips. Jankélévitch, a philosopher born in Bourges in the same Centre-Val de Loire region, wrote of the immutability of French stations: "The station's fidelity justifies the traveller's confidence."For anyone travelling from Paris, Orléans, Brest or Dunkirk to the Place des Épars, the sight of this splendid building, whose origins date back to the 17th century, is a guarantee of a successful stay. Inn, post house, preferred stopover for merchants a day's ride from the capital, then for pilgrims visiting Marie, the Grand Monarque - named after Henri IV, the only French king crowned in Chartres cathedral in 1594 - has become a second beacon of light in the middle of the Beauce wheat fields.

The Jallerat family moved in in 1968 and gave the house all its lustre. Fifty-seven years later, the Grand Monarque shines more brightly over the region every year. In 1980, the Gault&Millau guide commented on the "considerable rejuvenation of the rooms". In 1990, it praised the qualities of Georges Jallerat, as astute as ever in his choice of chefs. For the Grand Monarque, "the best hotel in the region", is also a great restaurant that wears its 3 toques with distinction, thanks to a succession of very good chefs who never alter the house, but on the contrary make its values shine. Even today, Thomas Parnaud, on the regional podium with 16.5/20 (just behind Christophe Hay's Fleur de Loire), still honors the pâté de Chartres, the irremovable emblem of the Grand Monarque.

In 1998, Bertrand Jallerat joined his father, after launching Bocuse's Brasserie du Nord in Lyon and running the Petit Riche in Paris. With his wife Nathalie, they decided to completely transform the house, leaving Georges Jallerat with the catering side, which was sold a little later. They developed and refreshed the hotel, and renamed the restaurant - "Georges is the first name of my father and my great-grandfather.and my great-grandfather's first name", explains Bertrand - and opened the brasserie, which was an immediate success. Today, the Grand Monarque boasts the full range of modern hotel facilities, including a spa, a lively bar and four food and beverage outlets.