This Monday, November 11, the Auberge de la Moreno, a gastronomic jewel nestled in the heights of Puy-de-Dôme, bids farewell to its owners, Raphaël and Alexandra Dubernat. After twenty years of a culinary and human adventure, the couple hands over to a new generationa young couple. But before that, it's a last service, a last round of the table with friends and family, to celebrate this turning of the page.
A 23-year adventure
The story of La Moréno begins at the turn of the 2000s, when Raphaël Dubernat, then a hotel school student, and his wife Alexandra, decided to take a daring gamble: buying the inn perched at the top of the Col de la Moréno. “At the start, we were a group of young people from the hotel schoolremembers Raphaël*, and then when we went for a walk in nature, we said to ourselves: what if we went to eat at the inn? And when the owners wanted to sell, they told us about it.”*. The couple bought the inn and jumped into the unknown, “and then there it is, it’s been 23 years. We didn't think it was going to last this long and that we were going to create all this.” he explains with emotion.
Over the years, the inn has become an institution in Puy-de-Dôme, both for locals and tourists in search of authentic flavors.
The couple had imagined their reconversion before reaching fifty. “We felt little by little that we were becoming important. Every day, every era has had its moment of emotion, dazzlement and surprise“, explains Raphaël, “I tried to delight the customers as best I could, Alexandra tried to welcome them as best as possible. We thank everyone for all the love they gave us“. But today, after a final day of service, it's time to turn the page. “After 23 years of life, when it stops, it's brutal. Our children will accompany us until the end. They arrived along the way, but we will finish this adventure together“, he explains.
However, they assure that this is not the end of La Moréno, the inn is taken over by a young couple. As for Raphaël and Alexandra, they will first rest before looking at new projects, “thank you for everything, we gave you the best, and we will see each other again under better auspices”concluded Raphaël.
