Lydia EGLOFF

Chef : 1 restaurant A fixture at La Bonne Auberge in Alsace for over forty years, 3-Toque chef Lydia Egloff cultivates a Mediterranean-inspired cuisine.

Presentation

Lydia Egloff and La Bonne Auberge have been going strong since 1980. She writes it with her faithful companions, her sister and her husband, whom she met at the Hôtel de la Poste et du Lion d'Or. Located in Vézelay (Yonne), one of France's most beautiful villages, it was once frequented by sculptor César and academician Jules Roy.

It all began at the Strasbourg Hotel School, where Lydia Egloff discovered the culinary arts. She took a liking to it, and in 1979 left to apprentice with Jacques Maximin at the Negresco. "He was nicknamed the Bonaparte of the kitchen. He was an ebullient, creative chef, a precursor of modern gastronomy", she recounts.

Lydia Egloff returned to Alsace with her head full of ideas. In 1980, in partnership with her husband, Alain Piveteau, and her sister Isabelle, a sommelier by trade, they founded La Bonne Auberge on the foundations of an old restaurant in Stiring-Wendel, Alsace. Buoyed by their success, they bought the business and the premises in 1983, then the adjoining house in 1990. They demolished the entire house to build the current restaurant.

After the terrible floods in Vaison-la-Romaine in 1992, La Bonne Auberge rescued and took in an olive tree. Since then, it has stood majestically in the middle of the restaurant, symbolizing Lydia Egloff's interest in the flavours of the South. "My cooking has always been contemporary and warm, with a Mediterranean touch. I sometimes draw my inspiration from Maghreb countries. I love their spices and traditions. I make them my own." Lydia Egloff loves to prepare sea bass or trout from regional organic sources. And no quiche lorraine on the menu at La Bonne Auberge! This bold choice earned her the title of Grande de Demain Gault&Millau in 1996, the first woman Master Chef in France (in 2000) and the medal of the Ordre National du Mérite, awarded by Jacques Chirac in 2006.

B. G.