THE CHIEFS WHO BRING THEIR VILLAGES TO LIFE (4/6) – Thirty years ago, the chef, now three-starred, did not receive an enthusiastic welcome. But the new mayor of this village in Aude is helping to oil the machine.
These cooks are the beating heart of towns with less than 1,000 inhabitants, which they support by using local production, by recruiting and by multiplying tables, hotels or businesses.
Special envoy to Fontjoncouse
The first time that the 130 inhabitants of Fontjoncouse saw a helicopter land in front of the honey house, they were left like two rounds of flan. To say that they got used to it is a big word, since the phenomenon only occurs once or twice a year. This is what happens when Providence lowers three stars to the Auberge du Vieux Puits, the only restaurant – and only shop – in the village.
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Gilles Goujon set up his pots here in 1992. Then in his thirties and working on the Côte d’Azur as second in command at Carry-le-Rouet, the chef wanted to become boss. “My wife and I weren’t rich. I was looking for bankruptcies in the countryside to take over a not too expensive business. In Fontjoncouse, they were on the third…”, he says. The restaurant had been…
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