International
Éric GUÉRIN
Chef : 1 restaurant
Originally from Toulouse, Éric Guérin grew up in Giverny, where his mother ran an art gallery. "Every weekend, there were between 30 and 40 people at home, coming for the exhibitions and openings."he recalls. He hesitated to study Fine Arts, but eventually opted for cooking. After three years at the Jean-Drouant hotel school, he entered La Tour d'Argent with Manuel Martinez in 1982. He then moved on to Le Taillevent, working alongside Claude Deligne and Philippe Legendre, before his military service as private chef to Pierre Joxe, then Minister of the Armed Forces. In 1993, Éric Guérin joined Jules Verne, the restaurant on the Eiffel Tower.
A nature enthusiast, this self-described"hunter, gatherer, fisherman and photographer" fell in love with the Brière marshes. He bought a thatched cottage in 1995, moved in and offered authentic cuisine. It's L'Auberge du Parc, in Saint-Joachim. Recognition came five years later, when the struggling restaurant was on the verge of closing. Gault&Millau awarded him a 14/20 rating, and one thing led to another: Alain Ducasse called on him to launch the first Food France at the Plaza Athénée, and he took part in the 1st Omnivore Food Festival. After several phases of renovation in 2005 and 2010, La Mare aux Oiseaux (his new name) became a luxury establishment with 15 rooms and two dining rooms. Highly visible in the media, the chef takes part in numerous TV shows, including "Top Chef" and "MasterChef", and has published several books.
He opened Le Jardin des Plumes, in Giverny, in 2012, which was awarded 3 toques in its first year. In 2019, Éric Guérin hands over Le Jardin des Plumes to "Top Chef" winner David Gallienne. For his 50th anniversary in 2020, he decides to undertake new work at La Mare aux Oiseaux, then, the following year, expands his local sourcing from 12 to 40 producers in the region. He continues the reforms by introducing more days off, a social approach that he considers indispensable today.
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