Guillaume AUSTERNAUD

Chef : 1 restaurant Chef Guillaume Austernod has settled in Haute-Savoie, where he combines mastery and simplicity at the head of the Ôberge de BounavÔ.

Presentation

Guillaume Austernod explains: "I fell into the restaurant business when I was a teenager . To earn a bit of pocket money, I used to wash dishes, make salads and pizzas... I liked it." Despite all this, the young man was predestined for a career in science. Enrolled in a bachelor's degree in physics and chemistry at the La Garde campus (Var), the student decided to stop kidding himself and return to his first love, cooking .

He enrolled at the Lycée Hôtelier in Nice and apprenticed with David Faure at the Aphrodite. Once he had passed his professional bac, the young commis joined Jérôme Manifacier's team at Vertig'O in Geneva. In 2012, he returned across the border to work at Maison Carrier, the Hameau Albert1erbistro run by Stéphane Gassot in Chamonix. He also worked in the kitchens of Le Pashmina, in Val Thorens, and Les Barmes de l'Ours, in Val-d'Isè;re.

In 2015, Guillaume Austernod befriended Christophe Billau, a mountain and foraging enthusiast like himself. The chef invited him to join the team at his first inn, Lo Robur, in Roure (Alpes-Maritimes), then at his second, Quintessence, in Roubion (Alpes-Maritimes). In 2017, Guillaume Austernod took over from his friend, until he felt the need to take off on his own .

With his wife Julie, he settled in Bonnevaux and created the Ôberge de BounavÔ in 2018. "I named it that, with 'Ôs', to pay homage to the local dialect and try to fit in well with this Chablais village." The couple receive guests there as if at home, with the aim of making gastronomy accessible ."I work with local producers, but my cuisine is more Provençal than Savoyard. I apply the techniques I've learned to simple products, so as not to inflate the bill". Gault&Millau rewarded this "simple but not simplistic, elegant but not chiche" address with 2 toques .

B.G.