Matthieu GIRARDON

Chef : 1 restaurant

Presentation

Born in Échirolles in 1989, Matthieu Girardon wore out his knickers in the Cité des Gones, with parents who were caterers before moving to Saint-Galmier in the Forez region. I think deep down I always knew I'd become a chef," he confides. I grew up in this environment, so it was only natural to follow in my parents' footsteps."

It was with them that he began his career in the family restaurant, Le Bouchon du Forez, in Feurs (Loire). His father's untimely death was a blow to the young man, who longed for a more peaceful environment. He left Forez for Aveyron and l'Oustal del Barry, in Najac. "I worked there a lot and learned a lot from an excellent chef. That's exactly what I needed in these troubled times for me personally. I needed to recharge my batteries."

Matthieu Girardon then moved to Bonifacio to work the seasons at La Caravelle, at the end of the Quai Comparetti, alongside Glenn Viel, who was not yet a star at the time. "He and I got on very well. It was intense and formative. I also followed him to Kilimanjaro, to Courchevel."

In 2014, after sending out "a lot of CVs, all over the place", the young chef was hired by René and Maxime Meilleur, in La Bouitte. "I joined as chef de partie and very quickly became Maxime's second in command. It was a great time, and I was like a fish in water. But my goal at the age of 30 was to run my own restaurant. I left La Bouitte at the start of summer 2019, but not without giving my employers almost a year's notice. There was no way I was going to leave like a thief."

A few weeks later, in September 2019, Burgundy by Matthieu opened its doors in the heart of Lyon. The success was immediate, the honors were piling up, and the third toque was just around the corner. In 2024, Gault&Millau awarded him the Cuisine de la Mer, des Lacs et des Rivières Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes trophy.

F. T.