Our philosophy
L’histoire des Tilleuls
Se reposer, se reconnecter …
Surrounded by powerful and changing landscapes, the house naturally invites a form of respect: that of its environment, its rhythm and those who bring it to life. Here, we favor short circuits, seasonal products and local artisans, chosen with care and consistency.
The cuisine is part of this logic: sincere, readable, anchored in the market and the territory. A small permaculture vegetable garden accompanies this approach, as a living and symbolic complement, without ever claiming to dictate the cuisine, but rather recalling the essential: the link to the product and the right time.
Les Tilleuls is, above all, about taking care.
Take care of the place, those who stay there, and the atmosphere that unfolds there.
It's a house of life.
A place of meetings, exchanges and moments suspended out of time. A discreet, almost confidential refuge, where you come to slow down, refocus and live the moment to the fullest.
More than a place shaped by a personality, it is a historic building that demands to be lived in, to be inhabited, crossed, respected. It is nourished by those who make it exist: the hosts, the visitors, the conversations, the silences, the seasons.
The table, well-being, the future projects are not fixed concepts, but natural extensions of this philosophy:
To offer a fair, sincere and warm environment, where everyone can find their place, at their own pace.
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Les coulisses …
Behind Les Tilleuls, there is a story of transmission, of land and of long time.
Julien Wauthier grew up in Belgium, in Walloon Brabant, in an old farm that became a family home. A place shaped by the patient work of his parents, surrounded by cultivated gardens, fruit trees and animals, where one learned very early on to respect the living, the rigor of the gesture and the importance of simple things, done with care.
From this childhood anchored in nature is born an instinctive relationship with the product and the right time. The kitchen then becomes obvious. Trained at the Citadelle de Namur hotel school, Julien refined his career within starred establishments, before being revealed to the general public during Top Chef. Two years later, he won a Michelin star, devoting his cuisine to being demanding, sensitive and sincere.
Mais au-delà des distinctions, c’est l’envie de revenir à l’essentiel qui guide la suite. Avec Alizé, son épouse, ils rêvent d’un lieu à taille humaine, d’une maison à habiter plutôt qu’à exploiter. Lorsque Les Tilleuls 1738, à Étretat, se présente à eux, l’évidence s’impose. Ils quittent la Belgique pour s’installer dans cette demeure chargée d’histoire, décidés à la faire vivre sans jamais la figer.
Today, Les Tilleuls is thought of as a private hotel, a break from the tumult.
Alizée y déploie un art du bien-être délicat et attentif, tandis que Julien imagine une table intimiste, quelques tables seulement, nichées dans le salon bibliothèque, où la cuisine se raconte au fil des saisons, du marché et de l’instant.
A house that is inhabited, on the move, true to its past and open to what it still has to offer.
