Nicolas ISNARD

Chef : 1 restaurant

Presentation

Asked what drew him to cooking, Nicolas Isnard cheerfully replies,"My sweet tooth, 115 kg of sweet tooth!"As a teenager, he didn't spend long thinking about where he wanted to go. A student at the Lycée Hôtelier in Sète, then in Béziers, he followed a classic curriculum from CAP to bac pro. He cut his teeth in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, at Le Prieuré, with Serge Chenet. "It was my first experience in a multi-category restaurant with a MOF. Serge taught me the rigors of the highest level," says Nicolas Isnard. He then moved to Paris where, in parallel with his military service at Matignon, he worked at the Ritz, Plaza Athénée and Crillon.

In 2003, he joined Gilles Goujon at the Auberge du Vieux Puits in Fontjoncouse, becoming his sous-chef and then right-hand man. In 2006, Nicolas Isnard took charge of the kitchens at La Cédraie at Château de Curzay, near Poitiers. The talented chef immediately earned a 15/20 rating and the distinction of Jeune Talent Poitou-Charentes 2007, followed by Grand de Demain 2008 Gault&Millau.

In June 2008, he took over from David Zuddas at the head of L'Auberge de la Charme, in Prenois (Côte-d'Or), with his future partners David Le Comte and Cécile Sagory. Nicolas Isnard's recipes, including the timeless hot-and-cold onion soup, reflect his personal style of cooking, earning him 16.5/20 and 3 toques in the Gault&Millau guide.

F.H.