“I’m a seasoned foodie. I grew up in Rennes, where I was immersed in a butter, cream and sauce culture. All my childhood, I saw my mother and my grandmothers simmer dishes of good French cuisine: pot-au-feu, cassoulet, blanquette, gratin dauphinois, leg of beans, guinea fowl with peaches… and, of course, Brittany obliges, pancakes and pancakes. We made them ourselves or bought them at the Lices market. I needed my weekly dose, it was vital.
Originally, I wanted to become a chemical engineer in perfumes or cosmetics, but I was not good enough for a scientific preparation. I’m a fake mathematician: I have a very logical, quick mind and I remember numbers, but I constantly try to get out of the box. Eventually, marketing suited me better.
childhood fascination
I did an HEC preparation course in Rennes, then I “went up” to Paris, as we say back home, to do Sup de Co Paris. I started working in multinationals, at Unilever, then L’Oréal, Lancôme, Revlon, where I did product development. Ten years ago, I joined Relais & Châteaux as Strategic Marketing Director – my first foot in the hospitality industry.
When a board meeting was held at L’Oustau de Baumanière, a starred restaurant in Les Baux-de-Provence, I knew I loved this environment. For the first time, the personal and the professional came together in my life. I rediscovered my childhood fascination for gastronomy there: Olivier Rœllinger was my parents’ idol.
They regularly went to dine at her star-studded establishment in Cancale, and my mother brought back her Retour des Indes spice mix to prepare the famous John Dory recipe for us. The obsession with eating well has been my educational backbone. Today, knowing where I’m going to have lunch or dinner and what I’m going to eat defines my mood for the day.
From New York to Melbourne
In London, where I moved to follow my husband, I applied to the 50 Best, which was looking for someone who could reconcile France and this English ranking of restaurants considered very “anti-French”. For five years, we developed, we took the ceremony from New York to Melbourne or Singapore, it was a fantastic gastronomic world tour.
And then, the Covid-19 stopped everything. When we can no longer go anywhere, what is the role of a brand that sends chefs around the globe? I left the 50 Best, we returned to Paris, and I was appointed general manager of La Liste, believed to be the alternative ranking to the 50 Best, with an app to find a restaurant anywhere. I try to give meaning to it, by creating prizes for diversity, solidarity, craftsmanship…
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in the restaurant business around the world, but I also love cooking at home. I don’t follow a recipe. And I continue to eat a lot of butter-sugar pancakes, which I prepare in five minutes, especially when I am alone or in a bad mood. »