Ghislain DAMAYE

Chef : 1 restaurant

Presentation

Cooking was central to my upbringing," says Ghislain Damaye. My parents loved to cook and take me and my sister to restaurants. I loved tasting as much as processing the products myself." Although he initially turned to the arts, literature and photography, the young man soon returned to his first love: gastronomy. At the age of 24, he passed his CAP with an additional qualification in dessert at the CFA in Tours. Motivated, the commis went on to work in a number of renowned establishments: La Maison Tourangelle in Savonnières (Indre-et-Loire), Olivier Arlot's La Chancelière in Montbazon (Indre-et-Loire), Alain and Marilyn Couturier's La Roche Le Roy in Tours, Alain Ducasse's Le Meurice in Paris. "In three years, I was able to discover all the departments and end up at the gourmet restaurant."

In 2017, "it was time for me to stand on my own two feet", but as a family. After waiting for sixteen years, his sister Véronique finally convinced him to take the plunge together and open their own restaurant: Les Bartavelles. "I wouldn't have done it without her, who runs the restaurant like a charm. I offer a no-holds-barred gastronomy, imbued with all the techniques I've learned in the great establishments I've passed through." The chef also pays homage to the spirit of La Gloire de mon père, Marcel Pagnol's novel that evokes childhood memories for all of us. "I find my inspiration simply at the market, in the heart of the land where I was born." This salutary approach quickly earned him 2 toques and the Prix Jeune Talent Grand Ouest 2019 awarded by the Guide Jaune.

B. G.