Jacques DECORET

Chef : 1 restaurant

Presentation

While many great chefs enter the world of cooking through atavism, our Grand of Tomorrow 2000 sought to escape the legacy of his carpenter father, whom he regularly accompanied on building sites in the Allier region. But life in the great outdoors didn't interest him that much, unlike cooking, for which he quickly developed a passion with his mother, a fine cook.

Jacques spent seven years at the boarding school in Cusset, near Vichy. A difficult period at times, but one that didn't prevent him from being a finalist in the Best Apprentice of France competition. A taste for competitions and, no doubt, a certain recognition, which would see him win the title of MOF, class of 1996, many years later.

Once he had finished his studies, the man who, with his parents, rarely left his village of Saint-Pierre-Laval, moved to Switzerland and, once he had completed his military service, joined Troisgros as chef de partie, before moving on to Lorain, Passard and Marcon.

In 2000, just a few months after opening his restaurant (then located on avenue de Gramont), Jacques was awarded our Grand de Tomorrow trophy. He was just 35, and his wife Martine was already at his side, a highly professional hostess and an excellent ambassador for her husband's demanding yet personal cuisine.

The premises soon proved too cramped for the couple, however, and in 2008 they moved into a magnificent Second Empire mansion facing the Parc des Sources, to which they added a few rooms. More fulfilled than ever, as generous and honest as ever, now assisted by his son Alexis.