Francis TESSANDIER

Chef : 1 restaurant

Presentation

A self-taught chef, Francis Tessandier sharpened his first knives in his own kitchen, that of his restaurant Le Café des Arts, in Beaumont-en-Auge (Calvados). He set it up with his wife Dominique at the age of 21. "Before that, I had worked in the dining room at Fouquet's, then at the Pavillon Ledoyen. At the time, we often went on weekends to Honfleur, a town of artists. We ended up opening this restaurant there."

After six years in business, and following expropriation by the town council as part of an urban development project, the young couple moved to Corrèze, "to be closer to my parents". In 1983, they became owners of a small country restaurant, L'Orée du Bois, in Lostanges. "It was a bit lost, so we gave it up to move closer to the city. " In 1991, the couple opened Chez Francis in Brive-la-Gaillarde, a chic Art Deco-style bistro nestled in a former printing works - "it was a pension-restaurant in the 1960s, there was even a petrol pump on the sidewalk". Gault&Millau immediately awarded it 2 stars.

Today, Chez Francis is a family affair. Dominique is in charge of reception, Francis in the kitchen, now supported by his son Franck, who trained at Le Taillevent (with Philippe Legendre) and Le Bristol (with Éric Frechon). Francis always buys his produce at local markets, "in the region, milk-fed veal is raised under the mother's milk". For over thirty years, the chef has been delighting gourmets and novelists alike with his fresh, wholesome produce at the legendary Foire du livre de Brive, who drop in to Chez Francis for a little dedication.

B. G.