Bernard Ravet has hung up his apron after 60 years behind the stove and 33 years at the Hermitage. Saturday evening, it was with his family that the great Vaudois chef bowed out in Vufflens-le-Château.
Spinach-strawberries harvested by his wife Ruth and placed delicately on a lobster tail, a few pinches of coarse salt on truffle tarts, these are the last gestures of Bernard Ravet at the Hermitage. The great Vaudois chef made his last service on Saturday evening in the establishment where he worked for 33 years, with his family.
For this last lap, the kitchen brigade was also exclusively family. His daughters, his son, his sons-in-law and even his grandson all trained or made a career at the Hermitage.
The chef evokes with a smile the “clan and the Ravet paw”. This Saturday evening, behind the requirement therefore points the emotion. “There is a pinch”, modestly admits Bernard Ravet. “It’s life changing. For us from a private point of view, a leap into the unknown, but that doesn’t scare me.”
Other projects for the new generation
The Ravet family was in the kitchen on Saturday evening for its ultimate service. [Yoan Rithner – RTS]“I arrived here at the same time as my parents. I was six years old and I served bread then. What I always do”, says the son, Guy Ravet, chef at the Hermitage where he did his apprenticeship . After a few years abroad, he has not left the kitchens of Vufflens-le-Château for 15 years.
Even if the place “is part of his life”, at almost 40 years old, the young chef aspires to launch his own projects. “I like to remember that when my parents were around my age, they left the Hôtel de Ville in Echallens, which had always been my grandfather’s place, so I want to say that in a way, history is repeating itself.”
L’Ermitage needs some investments, Guy Ravet adds that “whatever I do there, it will always remain my parents’ project”. He will say no more, between browning the sweetbreads and dressing the amuse-bouche. However, he wants to remain president of the Grandes Tables de Suisse.
Familiar and avant-garde
“I have been following the Ravets for 30 years and it is one of the rare restaurants that works without a sponsor”, notes Urs Heller, who was among the 41 guests. The editor-in-chief of GaultMillau Switzerland praised the consistency of the establishment, which has obtained 19 points out of 20 for 29 years.
The family operation of the Ermitage is, according to Urs Heller, an exception in the world of haute cuisine. “The Ravets know the origin of each mushroom, the fisherman of each fish they serve. Today, the fashion is zero kilometer, of course, but they were born with this idea”, greets the food critic.
New Adventures
A culinary and family adventure which ends for the Hermitage therefore, with the sale of the property. On her terrace last night, at the time of the speeches held after the hors d’oeuvres, Nathalie Ravet struggles to hold back her tears.
However, the sommelier assures that she has no regrets. “It’s a decision that we all made together, collectively. It’s a lot of emotion but it’s also a way for us to turn the page and start new adventures.”
Like her brother, Nathalie Ravet remains discreet about her future for the time being, but says she wants to keep a foothold in the world of wine.
>> Listen to Julie Rausis’ report at 12:30 p.m.:
Julie Rausis and Yoan Rithner
