Claude Izard was born on January 19, 1941, in a borough called « Les Cabannes » near Cordes sur Ciel in the Tarn « department », where his family ran a restaurant . Having imbibed his mother’s experience ( she was a good cook), he spent three summers learning cuisine, starting when he was 12, with Maurice LUFAUT, a renowned chef at St-Antonin-noble-Val. He studied at the Toulouse “ École Hôtelière “from 1958 to 1961. Then he worked for four years in Paris, taught for two years in the Côte d’Or “ département” before settling down in his birth place, Cordes- sur- Ciel in 1967, at the sign of the “Hostellerie du Parc “, where he still plies his business today. A veritable ambassador of our culinary heritage, passionately fond of his metier and of his rural environment , he has endeavoured to spread a knowledge of our regional cuisine and its typical products through several associations which he has created. His passion is expressed through all these associations and finally got for him, in 1997, the “ Certification de Services Cuisineries Gourmandes “ under a permanent control by an independent organisation called QUALITE FRANCE. The topmost “ restaurateurs”, under the heading of “Cuisineries “, commit themselves on the following points: - The professional qualification of the “Chef” and his personnel
- Their dishes shall be elaborated on their premises
- They shall valorise their regional cuisines by basing them on fresh, local produce ( 70 % of their menus )
- They shall daily offer a “ Saveurs Régionales “ menu
- They shall daily offer a “ Découverte Gustative” menu for children
- They shall deserve their patron’s confidence when offering a “Chef’s Carte Blanche” menu
- They shall inform their patron’s about the origin of their regional produce
- They shall offer a quality reception and service
They shall provide their patron’s with a register for their complaints
He has registered the word CUISINERIE, so far non-existent, quite an advantage. It may tomorrow , become the symbol of the artisan’s quality of Traditional Restaurants . His 20 years’ crusade gets its reward today, being granted the official “ Certification of Services” by the Ministry of Tourism… | 
