A native of Arles in Provence, it is the door of the Camargue, one of the most beautiful natural zones in Europe. In France, we are asked at the young age of fourteen to make a career choice and I had no idea. But one day, I met a guidance counselor who clearly asked me this question: “Why don’t you go to the hospitality business?” I said to myself: “Why not?” During my first year at Grenoble, I dreamt of being a cook, and admired the chef and his passion. He asked me to weigh out a recipe for pastry and was exact EXCEPT for 1g of salt! Chef lost his temper because of this miniscule error. At that point, I decided to work front of house. This does show that sometimes, life hangs by a thread. For me, it was 1g.
After having obtained all my diplomas in restaurant management, service, sommelier training as well as cuisine, which were given by my academy’s promotion godfather Alain Chapel, I went to Barcelona, to learn Spanish.
After a few months in this beautiful city, my first dream appears in my head. I was working on the world’s largest ship. At that time it was ‘’SS Norway’’ formerly known as ‘’The France.’’ So, I decided to go back to school in London attending English classes, and six (6) months later I boarded that same ship hailing to my first official port of call, Miami, USA, realizing then my first dream.
But the heart of my career really began in Québec City in Canada, where for more than twenty-five (25) years, I created a name for myself in the field of hotel and restaurant management. After being head waiter for a few years, I decided to make good use of my young experience and opened, (over a period of five (5) years), the following businesses: A fine dining restaurant which garnered Four Diamonds by AAA. Next was a Bistro, as well as a catering service and boutique, which pioneered (at that time) “sous vide” vacuum cooking... All of my restaurants reflected my favorite Mediterranean cuisine from Spain to Greece.
In 1996, I decided to move on in my career as Food Beverage Director at Le Bonne Entente, which will eventually become a Five Star hotel and Four Diamond restaurant, while at the same time teaching at an international hospitality College... These two contracts lasted twelve (12) years and I exploded in my creativity and profession as I travelled to Paris, New York, Chicago and Toronto.
In 2008, another dream made its appearance ‘’The international adventure’’, the plane becoming so to speak my “office”. Indeed, during the week, I have been teaching on an Indian Reserve in Northern Canada while spending my weekends in Barbados, in the heart of the Caribbean, all that before settling down on the island of St. Maarten, over the next eight (8) years.
During all these experiences, I took my inspiration from global winemaking leaders and personalities such as Christian Moueix, owner of Pétrus, who once told me: “Every morning, I listen to my vines” or Nadine de Rothschild: “Elegance is an attitude that gives you your altitude’’, or Paul Bocuse that I met in Chicago “Passion keeps you young in this job”. In fact, they all transmitted to me the fact that enthusiasm activates our personality, communicates our passion and bring a beautiful energy to others.
Since 2016, I have been living in Naples. I love spending time with my wife Francesca, playing soccer, training for a triathlon, reading and traveling.
Since the opening of The French, I love to share “my French flair” especially since my primary motivation is self-realization, which is entirely dependent upon the group of people that I am managing.