Staff profile
Damien Ducharlet
In the Ducharlet family, cooking runs in the blood!
At the helm of the kitchens at °Fahrenheit Seven Courchevel in winter and Roc Seven Cap Ferret in summer, he generously shares his love of bistronomy. Portrait of a passionate chef.
A calling
In love with the Bozel valley, Damien caught the cooking bug very early on. His father, a pastry chef and cook; his mother, a restaurant manager and excellent cook; his godmother and godfather, both head chefs… Even his grandmother!
His own Proustian madeleines are the smell of waffles at teatime, a pot-au-feu, a steaming boeuf bourguignon, a simmering blanquette… “My father taught me all the basics. By the age of 6 or 7, I was already getting my first taste of the restaurant world when I went along with him on his private chef jobs. I always watched him work and I was spellbound! I couldn't see myself working in any other field,” he recalls. He soon joined the brigade at Le Chabichou in Courchevel (2 Michelin stars). Chef Michel Rocheby became his first mentor. From this apprenticeship, as precise as it was technical, he kept one motto: “Keep it simple, and chances are it'll be good.” Over pompous flourishes, he prefers generous flavours and perfectly balanced pairings. “That doesn't stop you being innovative and creative - quite the opposite!” He also took away techniques, a way of working and of selecting his produce: “for me it's essential to start from raw ingredients and work them from A to Z. In fact, if I hadn't been a chef, I'd have been a fishmonger!” Damien laughs.
Diploma in hand, he headed to La Plagne to cut his teeth as Sous-Chef. At 21, he landed his first Head Chef position, in Chamonix. His style took shape: “in Savoie / Haute-Savoie we're lucky to have a huge range of local produce: vegetables, meats, dairy… It's a real treat.”
The Fahrenheit Seven adventure
After a while, he decided to return to his roots in the Courchevel valley. His former chef then introduced him to Stéphane Vidoni, co-founder of °Fahrenheit Seven, who happened to be looking for a head chef for his new establishment: °Fahrenheit Seven Courchevel. The stars aligned! “We're constantly reinventing ourselves, and I'm always working on our menu and our dishes of the day, so that our guests feel at home with us,” he explains.
A detour via Cap Ferret
In June 2022, the °Fahrenheit Seven family bought Le Mascaret, a restaurant in Cap Ferret. After major renovation work, Damien dreamt up its menu. In the Latin-inspired setting of Roc Seven Cap Ferret, he chose to showcase southern flavours, blended with produce from local terroirs. “Creating the menu for Roc Seven Cap Ferret was a chance to express things that complement what we offer in Savoie, and to meet some wonderful new local producers.”
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