“As a child, I had happy Sundays even though work was very busy. My parents still ran the Valence restaurant, which did not close that day. Often, I went to my maternal grandparents, who lived nearby. I thought it was great to go picking chanterelles and mousserons, to pick apricots, pears and apples from the shared orchard, to come home to taste tarragon chicken… these happy days are engraved in my memory forever . For several years, my restaurant in Valencia has been closed on Sundays. It’s the only time my 19-year-old son is at home, because he studies at the Paul-Bocuse Institute in Lyon. »
Hiking and gathering
“The morning is devoted to reading the press and tasting the restaurant’s pastries. I love hanging out with my tea, and watching the show “Automoto” with my family… by necessity! I listen to Coldplay, who we recently went to see in concert in Lyon. I try to exercise with a coach. I also walk a lot on the Vercors plateau. Who says hiking, says picking. For our restaurants, we source our supplies from professionals, but it is always a pleasure to pick mushrooms, plants and herbs yourself: sweet clover, meadowsweet, flouve, sweet woodruff, yarrow… I take the opportunity to take a look at my grandfather’s vines which give us white marsanne. »
“I caught up with Amélie Nothomb’s novels, her writing is so lively, so particular, like her”
“When my weekends are in Paris, I like to wander around the Museum of Modern Art, the Vuitton Foundation or the Rodin Museum with my friend Christine. In the evening, we cook a mushroom omelette or my men make a pizza, and then I stay away from the stove! Do I have the Sunday night blues? No, even if we have to say goodbye to our son, because I’m calling my friends. Before going to sleep, we watch a series – we liked “Emily in Paris”. Or I immerse myself in a novel. At the moment, I am reading that of Françoise Chandernagor, “The Gold of the Rivers” which talks about her native region, the Creuse. After meeting her, I caught up with Amélie Nothomb’s novels, her writing is so lively, so particular, like her. »
