In the kitchen of Les Folies, owner Alain Matrat dips a spoon into the Madeira sauce he’s been whisking, seasoning and boiling for hours.

“Right on the money on this one,” he says smiling, still holding the spoon to his mouth.

For the last 20 years, 76-year-old Matrat has put more than 80 hours a week into perfecting the touch of France he brings to Annapolis at Les Folies. He’s been in the restaurant business as a chef, restaurateur and dining room captain for 60 years. But he can’t do it anymore.

He’s sold the business and its building at 2552 Riva Road to retire. Les Folies’ last supper will be served June 26.

Matrat opened the restaurant, named for the French word meaning “folly” or “madness,” under a different name with his late Chef and partner Jean Claude Galan on Jan. 1, 1999.

The interior made diners feel like they were sitting in a brasserie storefront with brass railings, French art nouveau prints and the kitchen in the middle of the main seating area. It became a place to bring visitors you wanted to impress.

Over the years, the restaurant became known not just for dishes like Escargots de Bourgogne, Le Coq Au Vin, Le Filet Mignon Bordelaise, and its desert soufflés, but for elaborate celebrations like cabaret night, New Year’s Eve, St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween, Bastille Day, Oktoberfest, Casablanca night, Mardi Gras and Hawaiian night.

Matrat wasn’t ready to retire but said he can’t find anyone who wants to go through the rigorous training it takes to master fine French cooking.

“The French cuisine is an art just like painting, sculpture or stain glass work. You cannot learn it in three months,” Matrat said.

“It’s very hard to find someone to apply for a position, and when they do apply they have very little experience. They flip burgers or come from a pizza place. I look at them and say, ‘Do you realize where you’ve applied? … You have a lot to learn.’ We start training and three months later they come back and say ‘I cannot do it. It’s too hard.’ It’s killing me.”

With the restaurant closing, Matrat said he’s been losing staff. If his second line cook doesn’t show up Tuesday, he’ll spend Les Folies’ last days working the kitchen while running the front of the house, answering emails, and handling special parties and catering.

“I’m stretching myself to the limit,” he said.

When Matrat emailed 3,000 of his customers to say “Au Revoir,” he received responses from across the country. Annapolitans who moved as far as Hawaii were stunned because they still planned to come back to Les Folies.

Elaine and John Gist went to Les Folies for the steak dishes at least once a month from the time the restaurant opened until they moved to Texas in 2012. For the Gists and other regulars, including Pat Sajak, the restaurant became their own private club. It wasn’t uncommon to walk in on an evening and see patrons wander from table to table to chat with friends Matrat’s food brought together.

“Alain is just a warm, great host,” Elaine Gist said. “You always expected a great evening when you went there.”

Matrat plans to stay in his Cape St. Claire home while he travels and works on his bucket list. He wants to visit all the national parks in the country in the next five years. And he’s going to keep his hobby driving race cars. Still, he’ll miss the friends he fed.

“It’s very emotional and there’s some sadness to it because we created something so beautiful but I just can’t do it anymore,” Matrat said. “It’s just too much for me.”

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