Laurent CHAREAU

Chef : 1 restaurant Talented chef Laurent Chareau left Paris fifteen years ago to settle in the heart of the Nivernais region.

Presentation

Born in Chartres in the early 1970s, Laurent Chareau naturally turned to cooking when he had to make a decision at the end of ninth grade. I had no particular taste for classical studies," he confides. So I enrolled at the hotel school in Blois. I liked it right away, I was an assiduous student, I got my BEP, I did my military service, then I did my apprenticeship at the Château d'Orléans.then I did my apprenticeship at Château d'Esclimont, in Eure-et-Loir, with Patrick Guerry, a chef who was ahead of his time at the time."

A lasting collaboration with Gilles Choukroun

This was followed by a meeting with Gilles Choukroun, one of the most prominent chefs of the 2000s. The future star of La truie qui file, in Chartres, and Café des Délices, in Paris, was then based in a small restaurant in the Perche region. "I worked with Gilles for almost ten years in total. Even if our paths have since drifted apart, it obviously remains an important period in my life."

A key encounter with Didier Dagueneau

In 2004, while working at Café des Délices, Laurent Chareau met Didier Dagueneau, a winegrower. " The chef met his wife around this time, and a few years later the couple had the opportunity to take over Le Chat, a famous bar that had been open since the ^mid-19th century.

"I work as I see fit, drawing mainly on local produce, but not exclusively. I offer healthy, affordable cuisine, which I accompany with a cellar featuring numerous local references, at low prices. And it's a success." A success rewarded with 2 toques and the Terroir d'Exception Bourgogne-Franche-Comté 2024 trophy.