Bernard PACAUD

Chef : 1 restaurant Bernard Pacaud, a discreet figure in Parisian haute gastronomy, is the epitome of understated elegance. At the helm of L'Ambroisie for over 35 years, he remains faithful to a cuisine of excellence, far removed from fashion.

Presentation

More than 35 years at the top in one of Paris's finest houses: such is the unusual destiny of Bernard Pacaud, a discreet lord who prefers the music of the piano on the Place des Vosges, leaving others to tap dance on TikTok or Instagram .

Discovered by Gault&Millau in the first version of L'Ambroisie on rue de Bièvre in the early 1980s, he was awarded the third toque (the highest in France).oque (the equivalent of the fourth today) as soon as he moved into this superb Chaulnes hotel in 1988. If L'Ambroisie belongs to the history of gastronomy, the place and its location are not for nothing: historic residences wrap around each other like a precious necklace to form this magnificent Place Royale designed by Henri IV's architects, which Napoleon renamed Place des Vosges in honor of a department that was particularly zealous in paying its taxes.

An extraordinary destiny

After a childhood in Brittany, Bernard Pacaud 's turbulent career was markedby two life-changing encounters: Eugénie Brazier, who introduced him to Lyonnais and bourgeois cuisine, and Claude Peyrot, at Le Vivarois, with whom he perfected his skills in the mid-1970s. We were on the cusp of a revolution, that of the "nouvelle cuisine" with Michel Guérard, and also, it must be said, that of Henri Gault and Christian Millau, who brought chefs out of their kitchens and into the limelight.they bring chefs out of their kitchens and into the limelight, recounting what's going on in their restaurants with unprecedented verve and frankness, and shine the spotlight on these new artists: in Paris, their names are Alain Senderens, Jacques Manière, Henri Faugeron and Claude Peyrot, who is considered the most whimsical, the most inventive, but also the most uncompromising. Bernard Pacaud understands what cooking is, and no doubt what his cooking will be .

L'Ambroisie: a place, a history, an exceptional cuisine

right from the start, Paris flocked to L'Ambroisie, and the awards rained in. When the restaurant won this major award in 1988, Gault&Millau wrote: "In this refined but by no means pompous setting, you create meals whose balance, finesse and intelligence are perfectly in keeping with the Grand Siècle spirit of the Marais. "

For decades, Bernard Pacaud's work has been synonymous with supreme luxury without fuss, with that eternal, natural elegance so far removed from what some call "class", always true, pure and blue-blooded.Monsieur Pacaud is a prince who can afford to keep his titles short and to the point, with the number of ingredients limited to the essential: supreme excellence. Bernard Pacaud joins the Gault&Millau Academy on November 18, 2024 .