Maison Vidal, a family affair in the Haute-Loire
The vibrant village of Saint-Julien-Chapteuil lies at an altitude of 800 metres, amidst the distinctive hills of the Pays des Sucs region.
It is in this exceptional setting that Maison Vidal first came into being in 1954.
A family affair
Together, Odette Vidal and her husband Justin, a farmer and horse dealer, opened Le Bar du Nord in the village centre, which quickly became a favourite haunt for many regulars.
For years, they welcomed the locals, who gathered here to soak up the friendly feel, while enjoying a drink and a dance around the jukebox.
In 1985, their son Jean-Pierre Vidal, a passionate cook, and his wife Chantal, took over the family establishment transforming it into a restaurant. Offering traditional, gourmet cuisine, they ran the restaurant for over 35 years until their son Aurélien Vidal, in turn felt a calling to return to his native soil and take over the business.
Aurélien Vidal, a passionate chef
With two restaurateur parents, Aurélien Vidal grew up in the kitchen: “I was always involved in my parents’ work. From a very young age, I was shelling beans and making desserts... So, it felt only natural that I should want to do this and that I should feel such a passion for cooking,” he explains.
He therefore decided to become a chef, enrolling at catering college. Following his training, he spent ten years racking up experience in both France and abroad.
Particularly attracted to the world of haute cuisine, he worked alongside Michel Roth at the Ritz, in the kitchens of the three-starred Maison Lameloise in Burgundy, at the Dorchester Palace Hotel in London, and in the restaurant of renowned French chef, Daniel Boulud in New York.
“I felt the need to go and train elsewhere. It taught me a lot, both professionally and personally, and enabled me to discover other cultures. Training alongside a variety of different chefs allowed me to forge my own culinary identity.”
In 2016, he decided to return to his family home and work with his parents at the restaurant in Saint-Julien-Chapteuil in the Haute-Loire.
“Training alongside a variety of different chefs allowed me to forge my own culinary identity.”
Aurélien Vidal
A culinary symphony: Aurélien and Aurélie Vidal
It was in the kitchen that he met his wife, Aurélie Vidal, an individual with quite an unconventional career path.
An interior architect by trade, Aurélie retrained to become a pastry chef at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de la Pâtisserie (Higher Institute of Pastry Arts) in Yssingeaux.
She has always had a passion for pastry-making, which she now puts to excellent use in the creation of the dessert menus of the two restaurants.
For several years, she worked in the restaurant's kitchen under the guidance of Jean-Pierre Vidal. It was here that Aurélien decided to work hand-in-hand with his father until definitively taking over the reins of the restaurant in 2022.
Today, Aurélien and Aurélie Vidal have composed their own fine dining and bistronomic score, in collaboration with their young and dynamic team.
The chef is intent on passing on his savoir-faire to his teams: “Without the dedication of our brigade, we would not be able to achieve what we do. I feel it is very important to teach them about the origin of the produce and how to use it to best effect.”.
