Cayenne de Bordeaux

While the present Cayenne de Bordeaux was officially created on 17 September 2000, under the name ‘'Nouvelle Cayenne de Bordeaux'', his history is closely linked to that of the Companion Union and even preceded it.

In fact, as early as 1870 Lucien Blanc our founder established numerous contacts with former Companions whom he had known on the Tour de France, who enjoyed a good reputation and a certain credit in companionship. At the time the city of Bordeaux had an intense port activity, the Companions of all Duties There were large numbers of participants. In the archives of the city we find the trace of Companions of various Devoirs who were eminent cadres of companionship, but also a public reputation. It was thanks to the help of these elites that the city of Bordeaux played a decisive role in the creation of the Companion Federation which in 1883 was the founding ferment of our society.

Also since the creation of the Companion Union in 1889 the Cayenne had 93 members. But in 1889, thanks to numerous rallies (such as that of the Passants DD stone tailors and the Marshaux ferrant DD) the Cayenne had 163 registered Companions, plus 14 Companions thanked. All their names, followed by the name of a companion, had been printed on a poster on the occasion of the annual celebration with the training of the office. That is to say, the dynamism of the time!

On the eve of the 1914-1918 war, this was probably the moment when our Cayenne reached its peak. During the general mobilization, an impulse of spontaneous patriotism came to light in Bordeaux with the firm intention of cutting the invader out of France! They were to have in mind the beautiful song of Escolle, who had written: « If the homeland is in danger, let us all unite under one flag ». Also most Companions went directly to the front as volunteers. It is enough to look at the history of the great war, to know that of these volunteers of the first hour, he returned only a few hatched. At this time when men were already worn out by work and aged 50. A 1929 photo taken at a party shows thirty-four elderly or very old Companions, then a young person between the ages of twenty and thirty.

This photo tells the story of this dying Cayenne, who will never recover from her losses and from her ‘'recaptured'' Companions who didn't think that the vocational and technical schools that were born, would definitely replace the apprenticeship that was once widely provided by the Companions. The last war was to completely destroy the section of the Union Compagnonnique Bordeaux, whose last links were to extinguish the fires in 1947.

In the meantime, the Association Ouvrière, then later The Federation being firmly established in the city, the Union Compagnonnique did not see the opportunity to resettle in Bordeaux. In 1988, the last seat owned by the Mutualty was sold, the money deposited into an account was eventually to help a new settlement.

Since that time, the "Correzian I"Friend of the Arts, then administrator of the Mutuality, has nurtured the secret hope of causing a new ignition in the pretty city of Bordeaux. A friend of Bordelais la Constance, he applied himself to persuade the latter to finish his Tour de France in Bordeaux, the city of his ancestors, by not failing to boast to this single the beauty of the Bordeaux women. The idea of the Correzian was to allow the creation of what he will call the new Cayenne of Bordeaux, taking care that she was not in competition with the other Duties. The solution was to promote the high-level cuisine that is taught only at home, Bordelais la Constance accepted the principle. The first meeting was held in August 1998 at the Etché-Ona restaurant in Bègles, then owned by the "Vendéen la Sincère Amitié" (Vendéen la Sincère Amitié), present on the premises, as well as the ""Montauban l'Ami du Travail" (Vice-President General)" (Vendéen la Sincère Amitié)" (Vendéen la Sincère Amitié), ""Montauban l'Ami du Travail" (Vice-President General)" (Vice-President General)" (Vendézien l'Ami des Arts" (Family Friend), "Berry le Soutien de la Famille", "Tourangeau le Volontaire" (Tourangeau le Volontaire), "Ile de France Coeur Loyal" (Ile de Coeur Loyal), "Ile de France Le Désir de Bien Faire", "Libournais la Rigueur du Devoir" (Libournais la Rigueur du Devoir"), "Mekhnès As the principle of creating the Cayenne was enthusiastically accepted, we set out to meet each month from the beginning of the conference.

La Cayenne was created during the extraordinary assembly on 6 November and the statutes were deposited in the prefecture on 2 December 1999 in advance. This gave us a status, allowing us to apply to the municipalities of the Urban Community. The first objective was to obtain space to light the lights, the second to obtain a seat to install the Cayenne. Mr Noël Mamère M.P. de Bègles responded favourably, but the proposed room belonging to the General Council was unable to obtain the favor. Then it was Mr.Juppé, the mayor of Bordeaux and president of the CUB, who finally responded to our multiple requests. He instructed a person from the CUB to find us the seat so much hoped for. And put at our disposal the lounges of the Town Hall to carry out the ceremony of ignition of the lights of 17 September 2000. It was grandiose, under the 23 Cayenne gilded panels were represented with their banners, 120 people present including 89 Companions with canes and colours, all in a perfect order with official representatives of the Workers' Association and the Federation of Building Crafts.

After numerous negotiations and proposals made by the town hall, on 28 January 2002 the president signed a convention which made available to us a charterer of 220 m2 located in a park 10, rue du Haut Brion in Bordeaux. This stone-cut room was in ruins, but in a setting we wouldn't even dare dream! On 4 February 2002, a project planned in agreement with the Blanquefort CFBTP and the Centre de Formation de la Cayenne de Brive began the cover work under the direction of "Libournais la Rigueur du Devoir". The house was quickly out of water. But a large renovation project began on a voluntary basis, which was to last almost six years. We committed ourselves to doing everything by ourselves, provided the city took care of the materials. The bet of the time had been to demonstrate to Young and Companions that without money, but with a good reputation, a good feather and a lot of determination everything was possible.

This bet won, we still have to prove that we are capable of training young people to the high-level kitchen in a continuous way and to participate more effectively in the rise of local gastronomy.