THE BLADES OF GABRIEL AND SOLANGE : GOYON-CHAZEAU TRANSFORMS ITS HERITAGE INTO CREATION

Founded on 30 December 1975 by Gabriel Goyon, Solange Chazeau and their son, after nearly twenty years spent working from home as polishers for the many cutlery manufacturers in the Thiers area, Goyon-Chazeau continues to produce its knives entirely in France using traditional craftsmanship at its workshop in Thiers. For its 50th anniversary, the company is celebrating this heritage by unveiling two new collections of kitchen knives, “Gabriel” and “Solange”, directly inspired by the story of its founders.

A FAMILY STORY AT THE HEART OF CREATION

While Gabriel and Solange devoted much of their time to the workshop, they were also renowned for their love of entertaining. Solange’s French fries and truffade, the slices of cured ham that Gabriel carved in front of his guests, and his Auvergne-style trout fillets served with vegetables from the garden have remained firmly etched in the family’s memories. This convivial spirit now inspires knives designed to accompany every pleasure of cooking. The range embodies a dual heritage: authenticity, through production carried out entirely by hand in Goyon-Chazeau’s workshops; and modernity, with blades designed for today’s culinary uses, laser-cut before being worked to provide a fine, precise and particularly pleasant cut.

GABRIEL AND SOLANGE: TWO PERSONALITIES, TWO COLLECTIONS

The project began with the handle. From the very first sketches, Goyon-Chazeau wanted to create a perfectly symmetrical shape, similar to a grip, to ensure a natural and comfortable hold. After numerous drawings and prototypes, each blade was developed to achieve the balance, style and cutting qualities characteristic of the company.

Each knife is available in two versions, each forming a collection in its own right. The “Gabriel” collection is distinguished by its bocote handle, a golden-brown wood with highly contrasting grain that makes every piece unique. The “Solange” collection features a quarter-sawn plane wood handle, chosen both for its strength and for the natural graphic patterns it reveals. Handcrafted in France, the knives are made from X50CrMoV15 stainless steel with a hardness of 54 to 56 HRC. The full-tang blades, cut from a single sheet of steel from the tip to the handle, are hardened and then given a double bevel over their entire height, a razor-sharp edge, a heel and a professional matt finish. The knives are assembled using stainless-steel rivets, ensuring strength and longevity.

The range currently comprises six models covering the full spectrum of culinary uses. The paring knife is suitable for harvesting, peeling and small everyday cutting tasks, and can also be used as a table knife. The bread knife cuts through thick crusts as well as large, hard-skinned fruits and vegetables. The “Viandard” is dedicated to cutting meat, while the “Chef” allows precise slicing and chopping. The range also includes “Le Japonais”, a hollow-edge Santoku designed for meat, fish and vegetables, as well as “Le Marin”, designed for filleting fish and preparing carpaccios. The range will soon be expanded with two new models, “Les Petites Dents” and a second “Japonais”, a Nakiri entirely dedicated to preparing vegetables.

The same attention to detail can also be found in the packaging, whose design reproduces the pattern of the wallpaper in Gabriel and Solange’s kitchen. Each box also includes a QR code providing access to the signature recipes for Solange’s truffade and Gabriel’s Auvergne-style trout, further extending the tribute to the founders.

Source: Home Fashion News #62 – Sept 2026 / Translation: Leila Ahmad