Our story
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Family business for 5 generations
Once upon a time, in 1864 at Chambon sur Dolore, Claure Brugère, a tailor and his wife Marie, a laceworker, founded an inn where travellers, store representatives, stagecoaches and their horses could seek lodging and food. Their two daughters, Marie and Marie-Clothilde, inherited the inn and took a great care of that legacy.
Few years later, a tobacconists was built in the inn. In the meantime, the rise of annual paid leaves side-by-side with the putting of motorcars within everyone’s reach changed the business. Spurred on by the two sisters’ heirs, Auguste and Jeanne Magaud, the inn became “Chambon Hotel”, an hotel-restaurant that could welcome more customers with the best amenities and comfort. In the 50’s, the “Chambon Hotel” became “La Clairière Logis de France”, a name proposed by the family close friend Lucien Gachon, a well-known regionalist author (1894-1984). The regional artist Emile Mery offered five paintings to decorate the restaurant.
appellation "La Clairière"
By improving the hotel-restaurant, the two owners Paul and Paulette Magaud worked hard to take care and satisfy more and more customers. Their daughter Christine succeeded them and enhanced the comfort of the hotel-restaurant according to brand-new standards.
The restaurant chefs emulated their creativity to imagine unique dishes that combine farm-fresh ingredients and food design. What about cuisine in the past decades? Well, cuisine wasn’t dealing with healthy food or molecular cooking, it focused on emphasizing the freshest ingredients available in close surroundings to create hearty dishes such as boiled or roasted meat (Pot-au-Feu, Potée, Pâté en croûte, stew…) served with vegetables and soups. Calf’s head was the flagship dish to celebrate weddings. Pot-au-feu, roasted veal and baked potatoes were usually served at funeral gatherings.
