Éric GUELPA

Chef : 1 restaurant

Presentation

On the road to La Clusaz, the Hôtel de la Croix-Fry, a respectable establishment well over 80 years old, is a must for lovers of authenticity, tradition and gastronomy. The place is above all a family affair, embodied today by Éric Guelpa and his younger sister, Isabelle Loubet-Guelpa, who inherited it from their mother, Marie-Ange. Let's look back at this chef's atypical background: " School wasn't for me. I'm a manual worker, with a passion for woodworking and mechanics ", he recalls. As a teenager, he trained as an electromechanic, while continuing to work in the family business. " I was a dishwasher, then one day I had to work in the kitchen."

Self-taught, he finally passed a CAP in cooking in 1984. He then attended the Lenôtre school before working for his uncle, chef Marc Veyrat, in his first gourmet restaurant. After a number of experiences in different restaurants in the region, Éric Guelpa took over the reins of the family establishment on the death of his mother. "In 2009, on the eve of the winter season, my sister Isabelle and I opened the restaurant at a moment's notice. "

Since then, he hasn't given up. Still at the stove, he offers warm, local, seasonal cuisine. Warm, like the hotel and its chalets that Éric, a passionate woodworker, builds and maintains in the off-season, when the hotel is closed. "Proud of my 2 toques from Gault&Millau, I'm now thinking of passing on my knowledge. I'm training a young chef at my side, François Eeckhoutte, who was elected Jeune Talent 2016 when he was at Les Capucins, Belfort."The next generation is assured.

F.H.