Frédéric VARDON

Chef : 1 restaurant

Presentation

"I wanted to be a farmer or stockbreeder. My family weren't landowners, so my parents, who were pork butchers and caterers, told me that the best way to get closer to this world was to go into cooking. So, in 1983, I did the school of life: a CAP", testifies Frédéric Vardon.

After training with Jean-Pierre Morot-Gaudry and Alain Dutournier in Paris, he joined Alain Chapel in Mionnay (Ain). Both shared the same passion and respect for the product: "He had a great humility in the face of nature, while at the same time being an avant-gardist who made no concessions."

Enriched by these experiences, Frédéric Vardon joined Alain Ducasse in 1994: a decisive encounter. The boss, a pioneer of "naturalness", offered him his first position as chef at Hédiard in Paris, then appointed him corporate chef: "In his name, I opened restaurants all over the world:London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Carthage..."

Fourteen years later, the globetrotter finally settled in Paris, where in 2008 he met his partners, with whom he founded his own restaurant, Le 39V. This three-star address is perched on the top floor of a Haussmann building on Avenue George-V, in the heart of the Golden Triangle. Shunning fashion and the ephemeral, he offers a modern-day bourgeois cuisine focused on the product: "I don't forget where I come from. I apply everything the chefs I've met have taught me, adding my own touch. In turn, I try to pass on my knowledge to the younger generations. In 2021, to put a smile back on customers' faces after the Covid-19 crisis, he is renovating the dining room, whose bay windows open onto a hanging garden, in a cosy spirit.

In 2022, Frédéric Vardon acquired Le Café Max, located next to Les Invalides. "I used to walk past it regularly. I dreamed of this place, and it's an honor for me to have the opportunity to give it a bright future."

B. G.