It has left its mark on several generations of viewers and cooking enthusiasts. Marie-Thérèse Ordonez, better known as Mightydied at the age of 86 on the night between 20 and 21 December 2024. Born on 2 June 1938 in Rion-des-Landes, Maïté marked the history of French television with her south-western accent and her gourmet recipes.
Before dedicating herself to cooking, she worked as an announcer for the SNCF, alerting railway workers to the arrival of trains. Her media career began in 1983 when she was noticed by director Patrice Bellot during a report on the Rion-des-Landes rugby team, for which she cooked. She then became a co-host of the show The musketeers' kitchen alongside Micheline Banzet-Lawton, broadcast from 1983 to 1997 on France 3. Among the show's memorable moments, we particularly remember her 1992 cooking demonstration in which she knocked over an eel with a mortar pestle.
Parallel to his television career, Maïté opened his first restaurant in 1988 in Rion-des-Landes, where he also recorded his programmes. After the closure of this factory, a second one was inaugurated, Matewhich will be liquidated in April 2015. He also hosted culinary programs on Sud Radio from 1997 to 1998 and participated in programs such as This isn't rocket science.
Maïté has also published numerous cookbooks, sharing her know-how and traditional recipes from the French region. On a personal level, Maïté was married to Jean-Pierre Ordonez, known as “Pierrot”, who died in 2020. She also lost her son Serge in 2013, who died of cancer. He leaves behind two grandchildren, Perrine and Camille.
In recent years Maïté suffered from a neurodegenerative disease and resided in a nursing home. His niece Camille confided a few months ago: “He is fine, enjoying his retirement and his family. He no longer wants to answer interviews or do television, it's no longer his thing. »
Relive this cult sequence by Maïté
