“I have always been known for my fork skills and for never leaving anything on my plate. I grew up in the Saint-Paul district of Paris, where I did all my schooling. Every Sunday, with my mother, my brother and my sister, we went to the market in Bastille or Aligre. I loved this moment, full of colors, smells, tastes, noises…
Food occupied a privileged place in our family, we had brunch on Sundays, we had dinner together every evening. My parents, a lawyer and doctor, raised us in freedom and curiosity. At school, I oscillated between excellence and insolence, so much so that I sometimes collected ” Congratulations “ and “warnings” during the same quarter.
I chose to study engineering at Centrale in Lille, then a double degree in business management in England, before looking for work, obviously in the food sector. I joined Nestlé, choosing to go to the factories rather than the offices, because I wanted to understand the work of the workers. That’s when it clicked for me.
I witnessed massive food waste in full view of everyone. From water bottling to coffee capsules to KitKats, each production line generated considerable waste, without any consideration of the impact on health or the ecosystem. I realized that we throw away more than a third of the food produced on the planet, a concept as unbearable as it is absurd. The idea for Too Good To Go started to germinate in my mind.
“Surprise baskets” with their unsold items
I then moved to Scandinavia and discovered that some people had started the same project as me. We decided to join forces and create Too Good To Go together in 2016. The concept is simple: fight against food waste by connecting merchants and consumers through an application.
Traders offer “surprise baskets” with their unsold items for around 4 euros – a third of the normal price. It’s a win-win model. Demand was strong, the project took off very quickly. Too Good To Go is now present in seventeen countries, with nearly one hundred and fifty thousand partner merchants and four meals saved per second.
A year ago, I left my operational role at Too Good To Go, although I still remain very involved in the strategic direction of the company. I broadened my scope and turned to other initiatives, like Who’s the Boss? !, a cooperative that gives power back to consumers to shape their food system, by paying producers more fairly.
And I continue to cultivate my passion for cooking, especially desserts, like crumble, my specialty. Crumble is a great catch-all: a little flour, butter and sugar, and all the little leftovers of fruit and cereals. Like French toast, compotes or soups, this allows you to save products that might end up in the trash. It’s as guilt-free as it is delicious. »