A chef's knife

The forerunner of this movement to personalize table knives was Michel Bras, who had his knife designed by the architect Éric Raffy, just as Le Suquet was being born in 1992 in the hills of Aubrac. In 2003, Alain Passard, chef at L'Arpège, also tried his hand at design with the goldsmith Christofle, by designing cutlery designed for savouring his beloved vegetables...

Today, handcrafted in the old-fashioned way and in very small quantities, table knives from puydômoises or aveyronnaises have become the new chic of gourmet restaurants. A top-of-the-range handcrafted product that has become a favorite among culinary aficionados. " When it's beautiful, it's good", says Guy Savoy.

• Guy Savoy, with Tarrerias Bonjean

Guy Savoy and designer Bruno Moretti met on the banks of the Etang de Thau, dear to the chef, to brainstorm unique knives. Their first collection, designed for the kitchen and made by Tarrerias Bonjean (TB), a cutler in Thiers since 1648, will bear the name of the pond. The "Ulu & Savik" collection of uncluttered, almost disconcertingly simple table knives will follow. " If our kitchen utensils are exceptional, our tableware must be too," says Guy Savoy.

• Les Bras, father and son, with the Forge de Laguiole

Their strong attachment to their region naturally led Michel and Sébastien Bras to turn to the Forge de Laguiole to create a collection of family-designed knives. A collaboration that began with the opening of Le Suquet. The Aubrac is now also on display at Café Bras in the Soulages Museum (Rodez), as well as at La Halle aux Grains in the heart of the Pinault Foundation (Paris). La Forge de Laguiole also designs for Anne-Sophie Pic, with studio C+B Lefebvre, and Olivier Gagnère, with Jean-Yves Schillinger.

• Yves Charles, with Perceval

In 2004, while entertaining friends in his restaurant, Yves Charles noticed that some guests were about to taste his duck breast with their own knife: "Le Français" by Perceval. A click. The chef went to Thiers to develop a table knife with the same qualities as the famous Perceval clasp. " I came to buy knives and left with the cutlery," he recounts. Yves Charles became the owner of the cutlery. His famous "9.47" was born there. The chef has since sold Perceval to Félix Poché (in March 2022).

• The Marcon family, father and son, with Chambriard

For their home in Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid, Régis and Jacques Macron sought the perfect meat knife, returning to the source of a knife's function: its cutting power. With their eye on the famous "Thiers", the spearhead of Chambriard cutlery, which had become the icon of the Auvergne town, they imagined a piece that would be designed with the same care and attention to detail as the Chambriard knife.ce that would be designed with as much care as a pocket knife, a mountain tool adapted to the table, slender, elegant and efficient. The Marcon knife still sits at their table, and it's not uncommon to come across the Marcon family in Philippe Chambriard's store.

• The Pourcel brothers, with Claude Giraud

Ten years ago, the Pourcel brothers insisted on being present in the workshop of cutler Claude Giraud to witness the birth of the table knife for their Jardin des Sens. A special memory for his wife Véronique, who was in charge of the lunch! The chefs participated in the design and chose giraffe bone for the handle. This branded knife, which can be washed by hand, remains a work of art, so much so that the maître d'hôtel keeps a watchful eye on it, in case a guest is tempted to take it away as a souvenir...