Legacy in Action

Hi everyone. We're very deeply honored to be with you today. And we're going to tell you the story of a little 15-year-old kid who became a culinary rock star. And a 15-year-old kid who, 50 years after he started and 20 years after he passed away, is still more alive than ever. So this is the story of our father, Bernard Loiseau, who had but one dream in his life and one culinary vision. He started in 1975 at La Côte d'Or in the middle of Burgundy, in the middle of nowhere, called Saulieu, in the Morvan. And he had one vision and he never ceased to look at his dream since he started. Everything was against him when he got to Saulieu. No stars anymore. No. Because the property was one of the very first three Michelin stars of history of the Guide Michelin in the 30s, called La Côte d'Or from Alexandre Dumaine. And no stars. The highway was getting built. The shutters were falling down from the windows. He had to build everything again. But he kept his dream alive. He fought for it. And in 1977, he got his first star. 81st, his second star. And then 1991, he got his third star. And his dream was triggered when he was 15 years old, when he was just an apprentice at the Troisgros. And they had just gotten their third star. And so they were popping up all the champagne and stuff. And the little kid said, this is what I want. I'm going to get it. And it took him years and years, lots of sacrifices, but he built it. And he had tremendous values. And we're going to talk about it with Blanche afterwards. He said, if I did this job, if I became a chef, it's for two reasons. The first is because I love people and I want to please them. And the second one is I love to eat. But that's very important. But that's very important to tell you because it's not an egotistic movement within him. He was just a people here for the people. He was a humanist before anything else. This is our family. Mom always says, can you imagine that among the three kids, one of them was going to become a chef? This is a miracle. Voilà. And so this dream consumed him completely. It was his only one reason of being alive to get the third star. And us as a family, we lived this. So we were the second goal in his life, the kids. But the number one was getting his star and La Côte d'Or. His artwork was the number one and the only thing, I think. The only thing we would talk at home, La Côte d'Or. But so he became a culinary icon, a huge rock star. All the major chefs from now were trained by him. He was in France. He was not the most famous chefs in France. He was the number one celebrity in France with sports, sportsman politics. He was the most beloved person in France. But what we always forget is his culinary vision. I'm going to let the chef talk to you about it. So I think my dad's main idea was shaped by listening to his guests. And I think we're doing a work of hospitality mainly and welcoming and feeding people. And at the time in the 70s, he would have people coming like, oh, I don't want to eat a big menu. It's going to be super heavy. And so he was like, people can't come to the restaurant being scared of what they're going to eat. So he started really going to the purity of taste. So taking away butter, taking away cream, taking away sugar in the dessert in the 70s in France. So people were like, he's mad. The newspaper were quoting him like a water cuisine because there was like no, nothing fun. It was insanely good. And they discovered that later. And people would go there. And he's made everything in our life, in our hospitality is shaped by our guests, listening to them. And we'll see about it in all of the parts of our lives. And so it's about focusing on produce. So first we started with sauce. So sauce, how we see now, the meat and water and then reduction. And in order to give texture, he would make, he had like a palette of vegetable purees, very, very fine, in order to thicken the sauce and season them as he wanted it. So this was maybe one of the biggest revolution in French cuisine at the time. Instead of the roux. Instead of the roux. No flour, no butter. Nothing heavy. And you've rediscovered produce. It wasn't hidden by cream. It wasn't hidden by butter. It wasn't hidden by anything. And so you see on the left, the frog's legs. It's one of his most famous dish. And it's all, he had this idea of taking like everyday food. Like frog's legs is just one of our very popular countryside. And so you see on the right, the fish, a lot of butter, a lot of garlic. And here you have the garlic that was cooked in eight different waters to make a perfect puree with nothing else. No butter, no cream. Just pure garlic without the strong flavor. And make it how to do everyday cooking through three michelin stars. I think that was one of his ideas. And rediscover really the purity, the raw flavors. And at the time he always really loved his produce. And he always loved his producers. Like everybody thinks it's from Burgundy. My dad's not actually from Burgundy. But he was so in love with the countryside with the producers of the produce, the products. He would take them on any TV show, any newspaper, any radio. And trying to promote it. And it's still very alive now. Now we're talking about localism and how to stay local. But I mean for us it's very part of our DNA. Because it was already that in the 70s. He used to say the star is not the chef, it's the product. It's the product. Yeah. And I can't be Bernard Loiseau if I don't have a good carrot. I like good carrots. And so here is a little overview of our place. And then that's the trio Bernard Loiseau. So all the major inventions that Blanche just talked about are now talked in school. Like they were one of the milestones that moved French cuisine into what we know now. La nouvelle cuisine. It was called La nouvelle cuisine in the 70s and 80s. And dad was one of the most prominent pusher in the movement. Yeah. And then when he was at the top of the world in 2003, he committed suicide. He was at the top of the world in 2003, he was at the top of the world in 2003. He was at his utmost. Everything was fantastic. The property was more beautiful than ever. He was most famous than ever. And we were developing. And then he decided to go. Imagine the genius culinary artist. Charismatic leader. The most beloved man in France. The most beloved man in France. Culinary icon. All of a sudden, just like this, gone. Everything was to be shut down, right? And so one woman left up her little finger. And the same night, she went to the sous chef. She went to the restaurant manager. The same day, she was like, okay, I'm going on. Are you coming with me? And they said, yeah, let's go. And now we're 22 years later. And our mom had to make a lot of sacrifices in order to keep the company afloat. One year after, half of the staff was gone. Everybody in France was thinking, oh, it's going to close down in six months. And I think how she was really smart and how she understood it. It wasn't going to be a museum. It wasn't going to be someplace fixed. It had to live on. Our dad was so innovative. She had to keep going, keep going and moving on. And then people started coming back, starting to realize, yeah, we're still here. We never lost the third Michelin star, even if our dad passed. It was still there. And 2007, she started expanding. We opened a new restaurant in Bone. That was one Michelin star. Then 2013, Dijon, also one Michelin star. 2017, she built a beautiful spa in our hotel. It's two times best spa in Europe. And, yeah, so it was, of course, a lot of sacrifices, I think, especially for the family. And it's shaping also how we are today and learning from them. And during... Was she... Yeah. Yeah. Go, mom. Well, if we're talking to you today, it's because of her. Thanks to her. Yeah. Thanks to her. Because she hold on the fort for 20 years on. Passion, resilience, a love for hospitality and her guests. And always moving on and trying to bring you the best experience we can. And so after COVID happened, you were already working at the group. Yep. I was traveling around, working, learning. And 2021, we decided, okay. Well, COVID hit. COVID hit. COVID hit. And in France, we had to close overall nine months. Yeah. So imagine... This is our house. I lived just above the reception. I learned how to walk there. If we wanted to see the client, our parents, we had to go to the hotel, restaurant. So this was our home. All of a sudden, shut down nine months. Like, the leaves were coming in. It was insane. And we were like, okay, isn't this maybe, like, time to come home and do something? Because it can just stop just like this? And this is where we talked to mom and said, well, mom, we're gonna... We want to come back and we want to help you more. And we want to help you restart the machine. And, well, we have a lot to say also in how we want to grow the property. And she said, finally. Yeah. But there was... Transmitting a company... Well, in our guts, we knew both Blanche and I that we wanted to come back. But you never have the time frame. You never know when is a good time. And it's hard also to... And very emotional, especially in our case, like to grasp the subject and, you know, like put it on the table and say, well, mom, thanks for everything. But now this is our time. So... But these subjects have to be talked about. And they have to be anticipated a lot if you don't want to have big drama after that. And the... When we were very lucky to both Blanche and I because none of our parents pushed us to do and to carry over their business. They founded... They were the founders. But they never, you know, like say, oh, you know, I'm doing all this for you. This is all for you. You better work it out. No. No. Not a second. They wanted us to be happy and to choose whatever we felt like it. So, for instance, we have a brother. Our brother didn't decide to join the business. And we're very happy for him if that's what he wants. But that's also something very important. Like don't burden the next generation with what you have built. Just let them come. And then now we do it our way. And I think we do it great. But what's really insane in our case is that Bernard Loiseau is the name of the hotel. It's the name of the place. It's the name of the company. It's the name of the brand. It's so embodied that it was absolutely not supposed to continue even 50 years after. And that's a lot of... My mom was thinking a lot about that. It's like, it's not possible. It's like, I mean, if Mozart was to die, who's going to carry over? Well, nobody. And so on. And she understood something, two things. She understood first that this was a question of patrimoine, patrimony, you know, legacy. That the Bernard Loiseau story was way more than a family story. Like it was a culinary French story. And so we would like belong to the French and belong to this culinary world more than our family. And second, she understood that all the things that died, that fought for all the values that he established were timeless. Timeless. It was excellence, authenticity, authenticity, authenticity in taste, authenticity in being, just be normal with your clients, authenticity in the surroundings, and always thinking ahead. And that's exactly what he did. So this is the group today. Got three minutes left. Yeah, okay. So this is us now. Yeah. So Burgundy, mostly in Burgundy. Blanche just opened in Tokyo for us, Loiseau de France last year. And it's six restaurants, two hotels, a group of 130 people. Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? A little you already talked about. Yeah. Because Renée is with the whip just behind, you know. Checking the sign. No, I think one of the big things that we also wanted to talk about is how it is a family business. How our dad's obsession was through Michelin star ahead of anything else. And how it's really not our obsession at all anymore. Of course it's part of our life. Of course it's part of French gastronomy. And I think we're also trying to found our balance. And how we want to find our families. And how we want to find our families. And how we want to have a more balanced life. And how we want to have a more balanced life. And how we understand also our employees. And how of course it's a tragedy that hit our family. And sometimes, especially for me, it's hard to share him with the world. Because he's so famous. And sometimes talk about it in front of a lot of people is weird. But it's part of our story. But it's part of our story. Our life. It makes us who we are today. And it makes us just want to move forward. And still hear our guests. Think about our clients. Our younger teams. And see how we can do better for them. I think. And they gave us a beautiful foundation. We received this amazing gift. And we just have to keep building. I think it's very interesting. What makes the success of us carrying out. Is that we know what that fought for. We write them down. I nourish the team with the non-negotiable. What's our bedrock? What is our foundation? And this is non-negotiable. And then all the rest we can adapt. And we can do it our way. Because when we both understood that. Now the company. And the art. All his art. And all the things that he built. Is within our guts. And within who we are. Then we can do. And we can go very far. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah. And in doing that. So basically what when I. Because I'm the head of the company now. She's my CEO. Which is a tough thing. But. So yeah. When I was given the keys. Of the company. I spent two weeks. I spent two weeks. Watching. Like. We're losing our English. Rows and rows and rows. And hours and hours. And hours. Of all my dad's. Interviews. Interventions. Whenever. The. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. VHS. The old VHS. And. But. For two. Whole weeks. I did this. I completely. Emerged myself. In. All his. All the things. He ever said. Radio. Talk shows. Whatever. Throughout his. All his life. And when. I. I completely. Like. Was showered. With it. And. I. Noted. The non-negotiable. And. That. Let me. Really. Express. What our values. Our key values. Our key foundations. Were. Were. Where. We're going. What he wanted to do. And then. With this. I like really. Wrote a document. And with this. I nourished my team. Every single day. Because they're brand new. They never met. Bernard Loiseau. Of course not. And. This is the bedrock. The foundation. And this is. What we're going to carry out. For the long. And being a family. Too. Puts us. Like. We're not in the same time frame. Or. Of people. Who have investors. Or financial people. Behind them. We're on the long term. And when my dad built his rooms. And. And all the. The dining rooms. He was thinking. For the next generation. The next generation. So he took the very best oak. Everything. And it's been 50 years. And it can go for 50 years more. We're talking way too much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So you got it. Since 50 years. And for 50 more to go. Amazing. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.