The highly acclaimed chef of French restaurant Claudine shares more about how shaped his culinary career
Like many chefs, French-born Julien Royer’s fondest childhood memories revolved around food. Coming from a humble family, the 40-year-old didn’t have much growing up. However, despite monetary challenges, he says he always “ate very well” as a kid.
From a young age, Royer had been exposed to agriculture, traditions, farming and gardening—these experiences are the foundation of who he is today. His upbringing taught him to fully make use of what nature had to offer.
As a child, he remembers picking wild berries with his grandmother, Odette, and turning them into jam. “My family showed me how we are able to give pleasure, happiness and emotion to people through food and cuisine—regardless of what you are cooking—as long as it is made with love and respect”, he explains. These memories gave him the desire to work in the F&B industry.
Following his passion, the chef took his first job in the kitchen at 14 and fell in love. He recalls: “[My first ever job] was in a traditional restaurant in Salers, a village in Cantal. The restaurant focused on traditional regional recipes. It was my first job and [I knew that it was] definitely not the last as I immediately fell in love with the kitchen atmosphere, the camaraderie, and of course, cooking.”
He further explained that as a young chef, he always wanted to work in Paris and in a Michelin-starred restaurant, but it “never happened”. Little did he know at the time that not only would he be working at a Michelin-starred restaurant, but he would also be the owner of two.
Royer has come a long way from picking wild berries with his grandmother. The chef hasn’t forgotten his roots, constantly pivoting his restaurants back to his family—after all, it’s where his foundation and love for the culinary arts was built.