Private chef in the Pays d’Auge, Clément Ponseel delights the taste buds and pupils… at home

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« We put our feet under the table et I take care of everything », likes to say Clement Ponseel. Private chef at home for three years, this resident of Trouville-sur-Mer (Calvados) has been taking with him his knives, his pans, his products and his creativity to satisfy and delight the taste buds and pupils of customers of all kinds.

For meals with family, friends, birthdays, business meals or even for cooking classes: “it’s a profession in its own right where I cook for very different clients every day,” smiles the man who likes to share his culinary art directly in homes and at the heart of the festivities.

Learning alongside great chefs

Although he was not immersed in the world of cooking from a very young age, apart from his uncle, Cyril, who had cooked at Normandy, Clément discovered this passion at the age of 14 ans. “I always loved cooking at home, and by the end of college, I didn’t know what to do. We were discussing it with a friend and we both got into it,” laughs Clément. He took his first steps in cooking at Bellevuehas Villervillealongside Jacques ColletDisciple of Escoffier. “I was 14, I didn’t know anything about it and he took me under his wing. I started from zero and discovered working in a brigade, in the evenings, on weekends.” A first experience who fascinated him.

With his BEP in apprenticeship in hand, he continues with a BP. “ I joined the Royal at 16 », he continues. There, alongsideEric ProvostDisciple of Escoffier and starred chef at L’Étrier au Royal, he discovered another world. “There were 28 of us in the kitchen! It was two very hard and very rigorous years, but it was also the best school I could have had,” he comments.

Even today, Clément speaks of Jacques Collet and Eric Provost with passion and real recognition.

They are like my spiritual fathers in the kitchen. Throughout my life, I know that I will remain shaped by what they taught me and by their kindness.

After a year at La Clusaz to open the hotel In the Heart of the VillageClément has multiplied his experiences, notably in gourmet restaurants in Thoumieux has Paris with Jean-François Piège, at Layer has Courchevel or even to London au Green House with Arnaud Bignon. The Norman then took off to the other side of the world, New Zealand and in Asiabefore landing at Saint Barthélemy where he ended up as chef. “I traveled a lot, it allowed me to discover flavorsingredients, different ways of cooking with chefs and locals alike”, recognizes the one who has never stopped learning, according to establishments and cultures: “In cooking, the more you see different things, the better. East “.

Home chef, a favorite

In 2020the health crisis came to put an end to his culinary journeys. “I returned to France with the idea of ​​leaving again afterwards, but ultimately I stayed,” he says. Back in his Native NormandyClément has not hung up his apron yet. “In Saint-Barthélémy, I had already done some services as a private chef. I said to myself, why not do it in Normandy? “. Supported by his friend Matthew Lemoinewho had started out as a private chef, Clément then embraced this new path, never to leave it. “At the beginning, it was a lot of door-to-door, word of mouth, and then it spread very quickly.”

Three years later, the private chef has made a name for himself in the cottages and festive evenings of Normandy, his main playground, but sometimes also elsewhere in France. “It’s a profession in its own right and if I do it in a straightforward manner, it’s because I learned to do it perfectly before,” admits the man who can boast of more than 15 years of experience in the middle.

Au domicile of its customers, duringfestive eventsd’bachelorette parties or even during seminarsClément brings with him its quality products and its know-how to add flavor to moments of celebration.

“When you are a private chef, you are a 100% shareholder in the success of the eveningand it requires a lot of work, from the first contact to the transformation of the products in the kitchen, including the preparation of the menu or the purchase of the products,” insists this enthusiast who likes to create tailor-made menus, according to desires and tastes. of its customers, while letting itself be guided by a delicious freedom.

At the market to choose his vegetables and seafood, from his supplier of meat, cheese or even spices, Clément lets himself be guided by his instinct to try to find “a unique menu that will please all guests”.

No matter how much my customers pay for it, I want the same pleasure.

For three years, in the privacy of homes, family celebrations or business seminars, Clément has continued his culinary adventure, always with the same desire, that of offering “ a cuisine respectful of knowledge that I was taught, methods of Disciples of Escoffierrespect for the gastronomic culture et local products ».

“Good cooking is the basis of true happiness”said Auguste Escoffier. Today, the Norman chef, a disciple of Escoffier, regrets nothing in the world for having taken this path which brings flavor to his daily life as a chef.

At the moment, I don’t think I could work in a restaurant anymore. With this job as a private chef, you come across such different, very friendly people, who sometimes break the bank to treat themselves to a good meal at home. It’s rewarding, it makes you want to be generous, to continue sharing around cooking. Today, my greatest freedom is being able to create my menus at the last moment, to cook in people’s homes, to please.

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