At the end of February, a restaurateur from Ancy-Dornot, in the Metz region, received a phone call from the production of M6's new culinary show. The best regional cuisine is at home! highlights “the terroir and the love of the product”. To host it, the television channel trusts Parisian chef Norbert Tarayre, a face well known to viewers, and his double-starred colleague in Annecy, elected Chef of the Year 2024 by Gault & Millau, Yoann Conte. “We received them here, a few months later, for the filming,” the forty-year-old who was selected after an interview by videoconference still cannot believe it.
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From engineer to restaurant owner
It must be said that his story is not trivial. An electrical engineer for a large building and public works group, he learned the trade late in life alongside his parents. “I had looked into the issue in my previous career and I did not want their establishment, open since July 10, 1983, to close. My brother is in the business but he works in Alsace,” explains the man who took over the restaurant eight years ago. “Mom was in the kitchen, Dad in the dining room, and I was a bit of a flyer on duty,” recognizes the autodidact, like his elders before him. Have you guessed who it is?
“Roasted potatoes like at grandma’s”
Come on, we'll give you a clue: a year ago, he hired a chef, “also a child of the village” and is now looking to recruit an additional person to the service. Happy to be his own boss and to be more present for his daughter, the entrepreneur can accommodate up to forty seats and delight his customers with local products, particularly from the vegetable garden and family livestock. Certified MOSL Quality by the Department, the place is, among other things, known “for its roast potatoes like at grandma’s”.
On TV, you will see this professional being judged on the decoration and the atmosphere, a starter, a main course and a dessert, through duels. It remains to be discovered if Julien Jotz, almost 44 years old, accompanied by Daniel and Francine Jotz, and chef Maxence Thomas, will lead L'Auberge du Lion d'or to the final!
