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The Owners
Ludovic Merle was born to a family of restaurant owners. He studied four years at the School of Catering and Hotel Management in La Rochelle before leaving France for New York in 1998. The next two years were spent working as a chef at the Four Seasons, Le Pierre hotel in Manhattan. At the end of 1999, Ludovic moved back to France to the capital city of French gastronomy, Lyon. For three years, he worked under the internationally renowned chef, Georges Blanc, at the Splendid restaurant in the heart of Lyon. In 2003, he headed down south to the Côte d’Azur where, together with Philippe Jourdin, he did the opening of the Four Seasons, Domaine des Terres Blanches in the town of Tourette. In December 2004, he seized the opportunity to buy the Restaurant du Château in his hometown of Jarnac and so at the age of 24, Ludovic became head chef and owner of his own restaurant. Today, the Restaurant du Château is listed in several guides – Gault Millau, Michelin and the Bottin Gourmand.