Laurent PEUGEOT

Presentation

Laurent Peugeot got his taste for cooking from his grandparents. "In Saône-et-Loire, my grandfather cultivated his garden and my grandmother cooked the produce, always with a cast-iron casserole simmering on the stove. My madeleine de Proust from that time was a freshly picked tomato, prepared as a salad."At the age of 15, Laurent Peugeot entered an apprenticeship and passed his CAP. After his national service, he joined Roland Chanliau at Jardin des Remparts in 1992.

In 1994, he became assistant chef de partie at Jacques Lameloise's multitoque restaurant in Chagny, where he stayed for three years. After the death of his brother, Laurent Peugeot decided to leave for Japan, where he joined Philippe Baton. "At the time,there were around sixty French chefs in Japan, so we were a bit like aliens."He worked in Tokyo for four years.

On his return to Burgundy, he became chef at the Hotel La Montagne de Brancion, in Tournus, and prepared to take over the restaurant Le Charlemagne, in Pernand-Vergelesses, owned by his father's great-cousins. "Gault&Millau has always been a forerunner, following and supporting me, right up to the present day, with 3 toques and a rating of 16.5.I think the Guide Jaune has understood my cooking."

After some experience abroad (in Singapore and Saudi Arabia), the chef is now concentrating on Le Charlemagne."I grow 100% of the vegetables I cook in my 3,000 m2 garden; I also make my own honey and source my produce within a radius of a few kilometers, so that I have very high-quality products."

In early 2024, Laurent Peugeot announced that he would be handing over the Charlemagne to Rudy Villien, his second in command for the past 3 years, to launch a consulting business, again in the field of gastronomy.

F.H.