Jean-André Charial

Coming Up

HEC Paris provided the formal training, but the working education of Jean-André Charial took shape at Baumanière in Les Baux-de-Provence, where he entered the house in 1969 in management of the administration and moved to the service staff in 1970. From there, the work widened into a span that linked a single house to kitchens, vineyards, hotels, schools, and institutions in France and abroad. The record includes vice-president at Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Cuisine (1986–1996), member of the administration council at Relais & Châteaux (1987–2005), deputy mayor at Les Baux-de-Provence in Les Baux-de-Provence (1996–2001), and president at Syndicat des Vignerons des Baux (1999–2012), alongside owner at L'Auberge de Provence in London (1985–2003), consultant at Hotel Myako in Kyoto (from 1987), teacher at Hattori school in Japan (from 1987), founder and owner at Château Romanin (1988–2002), and owner at La Place in Maussane-les-Alpilles (2005–2015). Today, Jean-André is chef in the kitchens of Baumanière / L'Oustau de Baumanière (since 1973), restaurant director of Le Strato (since 2009), and owner of Baumanière and owner of L'Oustau de Baumanière. The career reads as a long practice in continuity rather than a single title or peak. Baumanière / L'Oustau de Baumanière stays at the center, with the years in London, Kyoto, and Japan extending that discipline into other rooms, other tables, and other systems. The work moves across dining room, vineyard, classroom, and civic office, with the same emphasis on stewardship and keeping an institution useful over time.

Where They Are Now

He remains chef in the kitchens there. He also owns Baumanière. Indeed, he said: “Indeed, I am a passionate person; I am 78 years old and still filled with enthusiasm and projects.” The present tense here is not about reinvention; it is about staying in the work. At 78, the language is still about energy and projects, but the trade value sits in the simple fact of continued presence. In his own framing, the kitchen remains the place where purpose is made daily, through repetition, precision, and showing up. Baumanière / L'Oustau de Baumanière gives the story its frame: the house where the professional life began is still the house where it continues.

In Their Words “Indeed, I am a passionate person; I am 78 years old and still filled with enthusiasm and projects.” “Ideally, I would like to die in the kitchen.” The first line is about forward motion; the second is about total identification with the work. Together, they leave little distance between craft and self. There is no ornament in the phrasing, only a direct statement of how a life in kitchens can organize a person’s time, energy, and outlook.

Honors

Jean-André's honors include Chevalier of the National Order of Merit (1991). That recognition sits within a career defined by long service across hospitality, governance, mentorship, and wine. The 1991 honor belongs to the same thread as Baumanière, L'Oustau de Baumanière, and the wider network of work around them: steady stewardship, sustained standards, and a public record built over time.