Jérôme Ryon, appointed Executive Chef at Hôtel de la Cité in February 2006, was born in Bourg-en Bresse, a small village in La Bresse, a region renowned for breeding France's finest poultry. As a young boy, Jérôme recalls hanging out in his grandmother's kitchen enjoying watching her prepare some of the regional dishes he was so fond of.

A graduate of the well-known Thonon-les-Bains hotel and catering school, Jérôme was fortunate to work for prestigious Chefs, such as Chef Marc Veyrat at L'Auberge de l'Eridan. 

Jérôme was appointed Sous-Chef at Hôtel de la Cité when Orient Express Hotels acquired this historic hotel in Carcassonne's walled citadel in 1998. Working in Franck Putelat's team, he travelled extensively to promote the Hôtel de la Cité and its French haute cuisine in the US, Estonia, Japan and lately in Russia.

Although Jérôme defines his culinary heritage as mainly classical French, he also remains very open to evolving foreign culinary trends. Of all the culinary seasons, he claims that autumn, with its array of game, mushrooms and truffles, is his favourite. 

Over the years, Jérôme has successfully participated in several gastronomic competitions. His latest achievement is winning the prestigious Taittinger International Culinary Competition in December 2005.