Renaud DARMANIN

Chef : 1 restaurant

Presentation

The eldest of six siblings, Renaud Darmanin used to cook for his brothers and sisters. A chore? Far from it, the teenager discovered a passion for cooking. The apprentice trained at the Lycée Hôtelier in Chamalières (Puy-de-Dôme). With his vocational baccalaureate and BTS in hand, the young commis set off to sharpen his knives with Paul Bocuse, first at the Pré Catelan in Paris, then at his Auberge du Pont de Collonges in Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or, near Lyon. Renaud Darmanin then moved to Switzerland to distill his talents with Olivier Samson, at the Parc des Eaux-Vives, and Armel Bedouet, at the Hôtel Royal.

In 2010, enriched by all these encounters and now a young father of 26, Renaud Darmanin took over the Auberge de la Tour, a hotel-restaurant nestled in the heart of the medieval town of Marcolès (Cantal). "I didn't give it much thought. I was immediately seduced by this atypical town of character, close to nature." The young chef started out with two employees, and today there are 12 ."I owe this success in part to the Gault&Millau team, who have given me a great deal of support." The Guide Jaune awarded him 2 fine toques, the Jeune Talent Auvergne 2014 prize and the Innovation Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2016 trophy for his "ability to modernize the region".

Over time, the chef renovated his Auvergne building flanked by a tower, earning 4 stars in 2021. "A 4-star hotel in Marcolès, that was improbable! There's not a power pole in sight. Renaud Darmanin is self-sufficient, thanks to a full-time gardener, and his dishes are immortalized by photographer Thomas Mougeolle, with a view to publishing a beautiful book: Fusion.

B.G.