André TAORMINA

Chef : 1 restaurant Experienced chef André Taormina has been flourishing for almost twenty years at L'Ambroisie, a fine 2-toque address on the shores of Lac Saint-Félix, in the heart of Isère.

Presentation

André Taormina grew up in a world of winegrowers, marked by images of grape harvests, meals with friends and festive atmospheres: "It made me want to please people by cooking," he says. During a meal, he met Hervé Quesnel, then chef of La Pinède in Saint-Tropez. André Taormina's vocation began to take shape. At the age of 15, he entered the Hyères hotel school. During his studies, he did internships at La Pinède, where he spent a final season after graduating.

In 1996, he moved to Hostellerie Bérard, in La Cadière-d'Azur. He started in the meat department, under the supervision of former butcher and caterer René Bérard: "I met my spiritual father in the kitchen, and he taught me everything."It was then that he met his future wife, Angélique.

In 1999, André Taormina arrived at Chez Bruno, in Lorgues (Var), and helped open several of chef Clément Bruno's establishments: Café de Paris in Saint-Tropez, Monaco, Château de Taulane, L'Abbaye de la Celle. He built up his experience in various positions, while at the same time his wife opened a family restaurant in Sanary-sur-Mer: San Lazzaro. In 2002, André Taormina joined her .

In 2004, aged just 23, the couple decided to take the plunge and take over Christian Poulet's former home on the shores of Lake Saint-Félix, in the heart of Isère. Thus was born L'Ambroisie, quickly crowned with a first toque, then a second. And while André Taormina's cuisine has evolved over the past twenty years, it remains "free, based on my identity, contemporary and instinctive". A winning combination.

T.L.