The host and restaurateur had become an icon of the French audiovisual landscape. She died during the night of Friday December 20 to Saturday December 21.
She had entered the kitchen of a large majority of French viewers. Maïté died on the night of Friday December 20 to Saturday December 21, at the age of 86. The information, revealed by ActuLandes, was confirmed to France 3 Aquitaine by the mayor of Rion-des-Landes, Laurent Civel, and by RTL. The cook, with her radiant smile and inimitable Southern accent, leaves behind an indelible culinary legacy. She has left her mark on several generations of gourmets and lovers of good cuisine both through her recipes and her banter.
Born June 2, 1938 in Rion-des-Landes, Maïté, whose real name is Marie-Thérèse Ordonez, first built a reputation as an outstanding cook in her restaurant in the Basque Country, before becoming a essential character of television shows. It was in 1983 that Maïté was spotted by director Patrice Bellot while she was cooking for a rugby team. It was thus revealed to the general public thanks to the program “La Cuisine des Mousquetaires” on France 3. Then it established itself in the French audiovisual landscape over the years and broadcasts, with among others “À table”, from 1997 to 1999.
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Ambassador of South-West cuisine, she also impressed viewers with her warm voice and authenticity. Despite strong television exposure, Maïté has never stopped defending frank, generous and unadorned cuisine. Her recipes, combining her know-how with local products, have placed her as a reference in traditional French cuisine. Proud of her region, she paid particular attention to the local culinary heritage, ranging from her emblematic foie gras to her cassoulet recipes.
In addition to her talents as a cook, Maïté has always known how to create a climate of kindness and sharing, inviting her viewers to transmit the love of good cooking around the table. His humor, his mischievous advice and his boundless passion for gastronomy will remain engraved in the memory, as will his multiple recipe books which have met with great success, introducing his readers to the secrets of his rustic but refined cuisine.
She shared her life with Jean-Pierre Ordonez, known as “Pierrot”, from their marriage in 1959 to his death in 2020. From this union was born an only son, Serge, who died in 2013 from cancer. She leaves behind her two granddaughters, Perrine (born in 2000) and Camille (born in 2001) to whom she passed on her love of cooking. The latter had participated in the show Top Chef objective in 2018 but also on an edition of “It starts today” where she spoke about her grandmother's state of health. “She is enjoying her retirement with us, still in her village of Rion-des-Landes. she emphasized in 2022 while a year later, the media Actu Landes indicated that Maïté was “suffering from a disease neurodegenerative” and now resided in EPHAD. More than a chef, she was a symbol of an era when cooking was above all a story of passion, transmission and love of the product.
