Through an encounter with Pierre Gagnaire<\/span><\/span>an emblematic chef on the world gastronomic scene, one conviction becomes clear: a sincere relationship remains the foundation of lasting, differentiating hospitality.<\/p>\n
Pierre Gagnaire is one of France’s great chefs. He now runs a dozen restaurants around the world, including Restaurant Pierre Gagnaire on rue Balzac in Paris. I had the opportunity to meet him at the presentation of his partnership with the Barri\u00e8re Group<\/span><\/span>. He now signs the menu for the Fouquet’s Cannes restaurant, illustrating his desire to transmit a certain French art de vivre.<\/p>\n This exchange revealed a powerful idea: in a world where service standards tend to be standardized, sincerity is becoming a real lever for differentiating the customer experience.<\/p>\n It’s about sincerity, the sincerity of the relationship we have with our customers.<\/p>\n I travel a lot, and I can’t get used to the idea of meeting someone I’ve never seen before and asking “How are you today? I’m sorry, but we don’t know each other… In fact, it’s a sort of formula that’s constantly repeated in Anglo-Saxon countries. The French art of entertaining does not correspond to this state of mind. We don’t have that “familiar” two-minute relationship with our customers. We need time to adapt.<\/p>\n In a restaurant, even if the relationship is brief, you can’t do it mechanically. Today, we know that we’re living in difficult times, when service professions are much less “popular”. That’s why I try to ensure that the people who are in direct contact with the customer live up to my intentions.<\/p>\n I always tell my teams that we don’t know the customer, but we’re going to make them happy because they’re going to stay with us for 3 hours. They’re the ones who choose to come to our establishment, so we have to give them a lot of pleasure. This notion of “patina” goes beyond aesthetics: it refers to a memory of place, a capacity to create lasting emotion, far beyond standardized contemporary design.<\/p>\n This approach is directly in line with the foundations of the generous hospitality that DELPORTE HOSPITALITY promotes: a relationship that is not simulated, but built up through accuracy and presence.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n As far as possible, I try to give my point of view in the design of my restaurants. For example, in Seoul, we did a restaurant where I completely controlled the project with Olivier Gagnaire, who designed the decor. And this place is really very, very French, yet very much in line with Asian codes.<\/p>\n Olivier Gagnaire has real French cultural credentials, because he knows the history of the materials that give authenticity to a place. We try to make spaces that are comfortable, elegant, a bit humorous, a bit grumpy, with a cheeky side, a bit like the French really.<\/p>\n A customer makes the effort to choose us and comes to our place for 3 hours. This is an important moment. A lot can happen over lunch. The meal is an opportunity to spend a good time and exchange ideas with other participants. That’s what we try to do in our restaurants, by offering a cuisine that includes the fundamentals of a brasserie: a blanquette of veal, a good sliced smoked salmon, a fine piece of beef, sole meuni\u00e8re, street corner potatoes, for example.<\/p>\n In the words of Pierre Gagnaire<\/span><\/span>a clear conviction emerges: the French art of entertaining is based neither on fixed standards nor on automatisms, but on a demanding sincerity of relationship.<\/p>\n At a time when the customer experience is becoming increasingly standardized, this approach is a real differentiating factor for hotel and restaurant operators.<\/p>\n It is directly in line with the principles of generous hospitality: to welcome with care, to create a bond and to offer an experience that goes beyond mere service to become a living moment.<\/p>\n Pierre Gagnaire was born on April 9, 1950 in Apinac, Loire. His father, chef and owner of Le Clos Fleuri restaurant in Saint-Priest-en-Jarez, passed on his passion for the trade to him. After training as a pastry chef, Pierre Gagnaire worked in one of Paul Bocuse’s restaurants and decided to become a chef. Later, he took over his father’s restaurant. After 6 years at the Clos Fleuri, Pierre Gagnaire opened his first restaurant in Saint Etienne at the age of 31. In an avant-garde setting, he’ll be serving the people of Saint-Etienne a cuisine that’s just like the place: creative, aesthetic and sophisticated. The Michelin Guide awarded him the three stars so coveted by the profession.<\/p>\n \nIn 1995, following financial difficulties, Pierre Gagnaire left the Saint-Etienne region to open a restaurant in Paris, where he took over the H\u00f4tel Balzac. It will soon get its 3 stars back.<\/p>\n In the 2000s, a number of brand-name stores sprang up in Tokyo, Dubai, Seoul, Las Vegas, Moscow, Berlin and London.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The French art of entertaining is all about sincerity At a time when customer experience is becoming increasingly standardized on an international scale, theart of French hospitality is making a comeback in the luxury hotel and restaurant sector.Through an encounter with Pierre Gagnairean emblematic chef on the world gastronomic scene, one conviction becomes clear: a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[203],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-art-of-entertaining-and-the-customer-experience"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat do you mean by the French art of entertaining?<\/h2>\n
\nHere we are at the bar of the Brasserie du Fouquet’s in Paris. For me, a place like this is a place that characterizes France. We feel very comfortable here. We’re not in an i-tech place, but rather a place with patina. Today, it’s a bit of what I claim, because patina is what gives things their excellence.<\/p>\n\n
Codes and fundamentals<\/h1>\n
When you open a restaurant abroad, do you bring a French touch to the building? What codes do you use?<\/h2>\n
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What’s your vision of the brasserie you’ll be offering at Groupe Barri\u00e8re restaurants?<\/h2>\n
Things to remember :<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![](\"https:\/\/delporte-hospitality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/pierre-gagnaire-199x300.jpg\" "\\"pierre_gagnaire\\"")
\nBiography of Pierre Gagnaire :<\/strong><\/p>\n