C’est dans les brasseries familiales que Jean-Philippe fait ses premiers pas. Son père, propriétaire de brasseries lyonnaises, lui inculque dès son plus jeune âge, la culture du travail bien fait.

Chaque soir après l’école, il rejoint les établissements familiaux, effectue ses devoirs sur les nappes à carreaux, puis troque ses cahiers pour les plateaux.

L’été, le « gosse au plateau »,  travaille chez Pasquetaz sur les bords de Saône, et  s’offre sa première moto à tout juste 16 ans.

Nous sommes en 1976, et Madame Point, amie de la famille cherche un commis qui n’a pas ses deux mains dans la même poche. Jean-Philippe décroche son premier poste de grand, et à la nuit tombée, se plonge dans les manuels scolaires que les jeunes de son âge potassent en journée.

Un an plus tard, Jean-Philippe décroche en candidat libre son CAP et son BEP  et sur les conseils de Madame Point, rejoint l’Angleterre pour apprendre la langue de Shakespeare.

Nous sommes en 1980, Jean-Philippe rentre d’Angleterre et postule chez Paul Bocuse, qu’il a eu l’habitude de servir chez Madame Point. Il n’a que 20 ans mais sa prestance et son aisance linguistique séduisent Madame Bocuse, qui fait de lui le plus jeune Chef de Rang du restaurant.

5 ans plus tard, l’enfant des brasseries n’a que 25 ans, mais son aisance et son sens inné de la relation client, le conduisent à prendre la responsabilité de Maître d’Hôtel.

Après 37 années chez Paul Bocuse, l’enthousiasme de Jean-Philippe pour la salle qui l’a vu grandir reste intact. Transporter chaque client est le challenge qu’il se fixe à chaque service.

Jean-Philippe Merlin | Maître D’Hôtel : The restaurant’s golden boy

Jean-Philippe took his first steps in his family’s café-bars. His father, who owned a number of café-bars in Lyon, brought him up from a very early age to believe in a job well done.

Each evening after school, he went home to the family-owned establishments, did his homework on the chequered tablecloths, and then swapped his notebooks for serving trays.

In summer, the « tray boy » worked for Pasquetaz, on the banks of the Saône, and bought himself his first motorbike as soon as he was 16.

In 1976, Mrs Point, a family friend, was looking for a Commis Chef whose right hand knew what the left hand was doing. Jean-Philippe landed his first grown-up job. Later in the evenings, he used to bury his nose in the school books that most kids his age bone up on during the day.

One year later, Jean-Philippe took and passed his CAP and his BEP (basic and higher vocational qualifications) as a private exam candidate, and on Mrs Point’s advice he went over to England to learn the language of Shakespeare.

This brings us to 1980. Back from England, Jean-Philippe applied for work to Paul Bocuse, whom he had regularly waited on at Mrs Point’s establishment. Although he was only 20 years old, his poise and his ease of expression impressed Mme Bocuse, and she made him the restaurant’s youngest ever Head Waiter.

Five years later, the bar-café kid was still only 25, but his easy manner and his intuitive sense of customer service resulted in him taking on the duties of Maître d’hôtel.

After 37 years with Paul Bocuse, Jean-Philippe is as passionate as ever about the dining room where he grew up. The challenge he sets himself with every meal he serves is to delight each and every customer.