Julien PERRODIN

Chef : 1 restaurant

Presentation

Originally from the suburbs of Tours, this craftsman's son knew from his early teens that he would be a chef. "My first experience was with Jacky Dallais, himself the son of a blacksmith my father knew. It was an obvious choice for me. I went to the hotel school, where I met my wife Barbara, before starting my apprenticeship," says Julien Perrodin.

At the end of his apprenticeship, he knocked on the door of Jean Bardet, in Tours, 19/20 at the time. "The chef greeted me, quickly went through my CV and said: "So far, you're rubbish, but are you a gourmet?" I answered in the affirmative, and started the very next day. I stayed there for almost three years."

In 2001, Julien Perrodin joined Didier Oudill at the Café de Paris in Biarritz. "He's a chef for whom I had a lot of admiration, a man of great kindness. " He then spent a few months with Pierre Gagnaire, "a gentle and honest man, but at the head of a very tough brigade at the time" . In 2002, he had the opportunity to return to the Basque country for the opening of Château de Brindos, where he was hired as second-in-command. Gault&Millau gave them a 17/20 rating in their first year.

Jean Bardet, with whom Julien Perrodin has maintained excellent relations, allowed him to join Olivier Roellinger, a chef for whom he feels an intense fascination. He spent a year with him as chef de partie. After chef experience in Paris at Jean's daughter Alice Bardet's Point Bar, then as a private chef in California, he accepted Olivier Roellinger's offer of a chef position at Le Coquillage.

In 2009, the couple decided to open their own restaurant, Barju, in Tours. Gault&Millau quickly took notice, awarding them a "coup de cœur" and 2 toques. Two toques that are still firmly attached to the pediment of Le Petit Vatel, which they bought in 2019. "My wife Barbara is from Alençon. When she was very young, it was by frequenting the Petit Vatel with her parents that her vocation was born." Today, she is a perfect restaurant manager and an erudite sommelier. He is the proud winner of the Techniques d'Excellence Normandie 2023 trophy.

F. T.