Philippe BARDAU

Chef : 1 restaurant Chef Philippe Bardau is at the helm of Le Lift in Orléans, a chic, modern address overlooking the Loire River.

Presentation

The son of butchers and pork butchers, Philippe Bardau attended the Médéric Hotel School in Paris. During my vacations in Nice," he recounts, " my grandparents took me to lunch at L'Oasis, in Mandelieu-la-Napoule. My grandmother approached chef Louis Outhier and told him about me. Convinced by his eloquence, he offered to take me under his wing at the start of the school year" In 1980, at the age of 18, without really knowing what was happening to him, the young commis began his career in one of France's most renowned restaurants .

In 1982, Philippe Bardau befriended Joachim Splichal, who had been recruited by Louis Outhier to open a restaurant in Los Angeles. A graduate of the Negresco in Nice, he found him a place in Jacques Maximin's brigade, "a benevolent chef who let young people express themselves". In 1984, curious about new trends, the young man wanted to get closer to the fashionable chef Joël Robuchon. Philippe Bardau was approached to replace an employee who had to do his military service, but the latter was exempted at the last minute, and the coveted position passed him by.

A blessing in disguise! At the same time, Paul Huyart was looking for a second chef at La Crémaillère in Orléans. This time, the position was his, and he used it as a springboard to take over the reins of the restaurant Le Bourdonnais - La Cantine des Gourmets, in Paris, owned by Micheline Coat, who was very involved in politics and close to journalists. "I first assisted Régis Mahé, from 1986 to 1988, who then let me take his place, until 1997." The establishment quickly earned a 17/20 rating, and even 18/20 in 1996 from Gault&Millau.

Having worked his way up through the ranks, Philippe Bardau now set his sights on becoming the owner. He set his sights on Les Antiquaires, an Orléans institution. "Thetakeover wasn't easy, the criticism was easy, especially as I was taking over from a local Robuchon: Michel Pipet."Over time, he built up a fine reputation and took advantage of the opportunity to open the Next Door bistro next door, but it was expropriated in 2009 by the town council, which was rehabilitating the area. The chef relocated to a large glass cube near the Cathédrale Sainte-Croix. Nestled on the building's rooftop, Lift overlooks the Loire River. "In this modern setting, I'm evolving my cuisine in this direction. My son, Kevin, head sommelier at AM by Alexandre Mazzia in Marseille, helps me enormously in this." Right in the middle of Covid, he opens a Philippe Bardau Signature boutique-caterer, a stone's throw from Lift, in the Halles. The adventure continues!

B.G.