Lhe flags of Rion-des-Landes were at half-mast on Thursday December 26, 2024, to say goodbye to the famous child of the village. “The death of Maïté was a sorrow that is not veiled, when I see the number of people who attended the ceremony. His disappearance affects us all,” testified Laurent Civel, mayor of Rion-des-Landes, before the start of the funeral.
A photo of Maïté in her kitchen accompanied the coffin.
Isabelle Louvier / SO
Nearly 300 people, her family, relatives, residents of Rion and more widely of the Landes, came in the morning to say “adishatz” (goodbye in Gascon) to Maïté, whose real name is Marie-Thérèse Ordonez, whose good nature was revealed to viewers in the 1980s and 1990s in cooking shows broadcast on FR3 (France 3).
“So, from the Americas to Asia, from Canada to China, your face, your name and your Southwestern cuisine became popular”
Autographs in Canada
Former director of programs for France 3 Aquitaine from 1986 to 2000, Jean-Claude Sire retraced at the end of the ceremony the exceptional destiny of Maïté, whose talents had been spotted in 1982 by “the director of rugby documentaries” Patrice Bellot. “He meets you while you were preparing the meal for the third half of rugby, you were far from imagining the rest of this epic. Besides, there were few of them who thought and believed that this could succeed,” recalled Jean-Claude Sire.
Isabelle Louvier / SO
Around 300 people were present at the funeral.
After five episodes filmed in the Gers, Maïté’s television adventure resumed in 1986 with the arrival of Jean-Claude Sire on the France 3 Aquitaine programs. “We had rebuilt the kitchen decor in one of your buildings here in Rion. And for more than ten years, more than 1,000 broadcasts of “La cuisine des mousquetaires” were broadcast. We will broadcast them on FR3 Aquitaine but also on the national antenna of FR3 at the request of Jacques Chancel (former radio and television journalist, Editor’s note), who came to meet you in your restaurant. They will also be broadcast on TV5 Monde. So, from the Americas to Asia, from Canada to China, your face, your name and your Southwestern cuisine were becoming popular.”
Isabelle Louvier / SO
Maïté’s granddaughters, “with heavy hearts” of sadness, said “one last goodbye” to their grandmother.
He continues: “Remember, dear Maïté, your astonishment at the Montreal airport, when the Canadians, recognizing you, came to greet you and ask for autographs. You have always remained yourself, the daughter of Landes, always straight, always available, always smiling and always humble,” underlined Jean-Claude Sire.
“Dear Maïté, I could talk for hours about our meetings, our meals, your questions, always curious to learn new things, your songs, your laughter and your love for cooking. Television was a completely unknown world to you, but you learned it quickly, and learned it well. And with talent.” “Dear Maïté, you will be able to enter the kitchens of paradise. The angels are in for a treat. We will miss you. It is absolutely impossible that we forget you,” the former program director paid tribute to him.
Isabelle Louvier / SO
Many tributes have been left in the condolence registers.
« Source d’inspiration »
At the “banquet”, “God will serve you”, Father Dubroca had expressed a few moments earlier, who also described a woman “with a lot of humor and modesty”.
A woman “so generous”, “a source of inspiration”, “my example”, presented one of her two granddaughters, Camille. “She took us everywhere, to restaurants, to producers who had become friends of hers. And she often said: my little ones will be the next generation,” recalls today the 23-year-old young woman, whose face appeared in “ Objectif Top Chef ” on M6, and who currently works in Ireland in the kitchens of a French bakery-pastry maker, after having completed an apprenticeship in Magescq, with Jean Coussau.
Isabelle Louvier / SO
Many Landais people traveled to Rion-des-Landes for the funeral.
The two-star chef from the Relais de La Poste establishment was also present at the funeral, one of the only representatives of French gastronomy recognized at the church. “I had known Maïté for a very long time, she came to eat at my house, I went to eat at her place. I really appreciated his kindness. One essential thing for me: she had never cut the roots of the Landes. Despite the aura she had, she also remained very simple,” highlights Jean Coussau.
Isabelle Louvier / SO
Jean Coussau, of the two-starred restaurant Le Relais de La Poste in Magescq, had known Maïté “for a very long time”.
The condolence registers at the entrance to the church were filled with lovely thoughts. “A big thank you to Maïté for giving my mother great moments of joy during a difficult time. Adishatz,” writes a resident of Lesgor. “The absence of Maïté leaves a great void in the world of happiness and cheerfulness,” a woman from Morcenx-la-Nouvelle pays tribute to her.
In Rion-des-Landes, a phrase was repeated as we left the church on Thursday: “A page is turning”.
