Debon was born in the French Alps in a small town in the Matheysine valley between two snow-topped mountains with lakes, farms and forests all around. His growing up has all the makings of an epic screenplay.
Exploring the mountains surrounding his home, he picked mushrooms in the forest and berries from bushes and pulled fish from the lakes and rivers and crawfish from the wet banks. He learned to make pastries and learned resourceful ways to use the many things that came from farm animals and the family garden. It began in him a deep appreciation for fresh ingredients and playful ways arranging them into delectable dishes.
His mother, Jeanine, encouraged Lionel to work in the best restaurants to reach the heights he wanted to achieve in his career.
Admittedly, he had more of an interest in motorcycles than anything else, and hoped to one day be a professional mechanic for competitions. However, as there were more opportunities at hand to learn cooking, that was the path he took. At around age 15, he was working at Hotel du Parc while enrolled in a cooking school in Grenoble, France, and at that point, his future was set.
As his career advanced – interrupted by a one-year stint in the army where he drove a tank – Debon worked throughout France and then Switzerland and even shortly in Venezuela. The path led him to the restaurant le Moulin de la Camandoule in Fayence, which by coincidence was owned by Dave Huber from Houston, Texas. Toward the end of his fifth year at the restaurant, Debon was asked by Dave if he was interested in coming to the United States for work.
This is where he met the brothers David and Sylvain Denis and was invited to join them at Le Mistral Restaurant. He went home, packed, and headed to America with his wife Sonia, two daughters, Romane age 7 and Marion age 12, and eight suitcases. They sold everything and came to Houston. Today, Marion has a degree in mathematics and works as a data scientist, and Romane is studying business at the University of Houston. His wife is a certified nanny for French families as she loves working with children. They all speak multiple languages.
Joining the brothers Denis at Le Mistral Restaurant in its new and enlarged location,
Debon quickly established himself among Houston’s chefs. He remained there until its closing, a time when he was quickly hired at Alba Restaurant in the Hotel Granduca where he remained through the trials of the Covid pandemic and afterwards.
The opportunity to join Denis once again in the kitchen came – this time as one of the owners of the restaurant. As far as sharing a kitchen with another chef, Debon sees nothing but opportunity.
