Cyril Lignac
Once upon a time
By Laurent Feneau

If his charming smile and smartly-cut hair are fairly familiar to us, what is much less known is his background and career path. In just a few years this young chef television star on M6 managed to climb right up to the top with the famous ones. Here is the recipe …

Less than two years ago, the general public did not yet know this young 30-year old man. But today, he is stopped in the street, he is asked for autographs and his name is cited more and more by the great French chefs. Hey, that's Cyril Lignac, the young chef from Quinzième - Cuisine Attitude and the television series "Chef, la recette!'.
Cooking is the story of his life. It's in fact cooking which came to him and not the other way around. A sign? Perhaps… It all started at school where Cyril decided this was not for him. "I was terrible at school and I wanted to find a job that I'd like", he confessed. This is not easy when you are sixteen and living in the middle of nowhere in the Aveyron, but this teenager already knew what he wanted. He wanted to cook. He went to hotel school and finished at the age of twenty. With his diploma in hand, he returned to work in his home region, at the Auberge du Vieux Pont (one Michelin star) located at Belcastel. This helped to confirm his love for cooking but he only had one dream in mind: Paris.
Cyril's first working experience in Paris was at L'Arpège. Alongside Alain Passard, he discovered the pleasure of improvising and the desire to offer the best, all combined in a total spontaneity. "Some of my favourite memories are my early days spent at the L'Arpège. There I really learned what cooking was all about, that it's a living science and a constant self-questioning of how to do better", he remembers. This apprentice cook then worked with some of the greatest chefs such as Pierre Hermé at the Korova, Alain Ducasse at the Grande Cascade, but notably with the Pourcel brothers at the Maison Blanche and the aptly-named "Jardin des Sens" … " I will be eternally grateful to Jacques and Laurent Pourcel for what they taught me and I readily admit their influence in my cooking", explains Cyril Lignac.

"Getting to the heart of it … "
Slowly, this commis became a chef and began revealing his own personality by showing-off his tastes through an inventive and creative cooking, and, by his own reckoning, "simple and right". He adds, "My Mediterranean cooking culture makes me cook with real products. I start with a good product and, as much as possible, try to return to the original taste, it's a way of getting to the heart of it". Now settled in Paris, perfectly trained and already well-known, there in only one dream unfulfilled for Cyril which is to open his very own restaurant. M6 decided to give him this opportunity by having him be the star of the program "Oui, Chef!". This young Chef was given four months to hire a dozen young people with no experience whatsoever in cooking, train them and then form a cooking team with whom he would open his own restaurant in Paris. We know what happens next just as well as we do the success of this formula …"When you like your job and love what you do, you have this drive to transmit this passion to others and that was the basis for me doing this television program and the reason it was so successful", he clarified.
This dream came true and today Cyril Lignac now owns his own restaurant, the now well-known Quinzième - Cuisine Attitude. The setting which is calm and welcoming reflects his personality. "I feel very at home here and I am really myself with the clients," says the young Chef, and he adds, "which does not stop us from paying careful and friendly attention for each one of our guests".

Generosity and "terroir"
Inside the restaurant, some of the tables face the kitchen which is laid out behind a large bay window. So if you find yourself sitting in this area, you can admire the Chef at work, often busily bustling around but always very professional. As, more than anything, Cyril likes to share his kitchen, his emotions, his happiness … in short, his sensitivity. "There is always this idea of sharing in the kitchen and cooking is, by definition, a sign of generosity otherwise you would not be in this business", he says categorically. He pursues by saying, "Besides cooking well, there are also the small gests destined for the guests like the small warm towels distributed at the beginning of the meal, the appetizers, the pre-dessert treats or the little fruit cake which is offered to the client in the evening to dine on the next morning for their breakfast - all that is the definition of generosity".
His success has influenced neither his sensitivity nor his level-headedness. Cyril does his best to remain modest, not just with the public but also when working in the kitchen. Although his cooking is the proof of great precision and creativity, this does not stop him every now and again to go back a little in time and cook "like in the old days" as he puts it …. Yes, as surprising as it may seem, this M6 television star is very fond of tasty sauces, "terroir" recipes and those delicious dishes of the yesteryear. "For example, today in this large pot there are two whole chickens simmering which will give us a good broth just like they did in the old days", explains this Averyron Chef standing in front of his stoves. To conclude he says, "When you think about it, isn't cooking just simply respecting a good product and then restoring the authenticity of its taste?". Definitely food for thought.

"A welcome …"
For me, this means smiling, gracious and present everywhere. Even though it is not my style to parade between the tables, I do my best to remain accessible to those who want to see me.

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