Patrick QUARD

Propriétaire : 1 restaurant

Presentation

Café de L'Ardèche has been a Montélimar institution for over 150 years, and is now run by current owner Patrick Quard, a man with an astonishing background. Born into a large family, he discovered cooking with his parents. Brilliant, he studied at university, where he met the daughter of a famous restaurateur.

After his military service, he worked with his parents in the family establishment, a hotel-restaurant in Valmorel that was sold in 1990. He then worked in the art world, his passion, and in banking. At the age of 40, Patrick Quard resumed his studies at Science-Po. He passed the competitive entrance exams that opened the doors to the civil service.

In the meantime, his family had become the owners of the Café de l'Ardèche, and the establishment was in decline. Determined to save this historic place, Patrick bought back the business to restore it to its former glory. In August 2017, after more than three years of renovation, the establishment reopened. And it's a success, quickly rewarded with 1 toque, then 2. " It couldn't have happened without the craftsmen, producers, suppliers, the customers who keep this place going... We always need someone smaller than ourselves, as La Fontaine says in his fable The Lion and the Rat."This is Patrick Quard's philosophy.

F.H.