Didier CLÉMENT

Chef : 1 restaurant

Presentation

At the age of 16, Didier Clément moved to Limoges to apprentice with Jean Guinot. "It was one of my best years. Idiscovered an extraordinary world of gastronomy, products and the atmosphere of a brigade," he recalls. The young chef then set off to Paris to learn his trade. First at the Taillevent, during the Claude Deligne era, then at the Pavillon Ledoyen. Later, he joined Louis Outhier's L'Oasis in Mandelieu-la-Napoule (Alpes-Maritimes). "All these experiences were like a Tour de France, a companionship."In 1979, he returned to Paris, this time to the restaurant La Bouffe d'Or:"I was able to make my mark as a chef, and it allowed me to express myself."

At the age of 24, Didier Clément returned to his native Loir-et-Cher to take charge of the kitchens at the Grand Hôtel du Lion d'Or in Romorantin-Lanthenay. "I had just married Marie-Christine, whose parents owned the hotel.It was a natural fit."

More than forty years later, Didier Clément has been awarded the Gault&Millau d'Or Loire trophy. "Half a century of cooking is looking back at me. It's moving to continue to be recognized," he confides. What's his ambition today?"To pass on my knowledge and, perhaps, the reins of my kitchen, to give a young person the opportunity to express himself, as I did when I started out in Romorantin."

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