Chefs and ceramic design: A happy marriage
Sunday 10 September —
12:00
- 12:45
The Talks — Hall 7
Description
Though the links between gastronomy and tableware have always been close and fruitful, an increasing number of chefs are taking to these materials themselves, bringing it as close as possible to their kitchens: some of them have forged a close relationship with pottery makers, such as Grégory Marchand and ceramic artist Marion Graux. Others are really getting their hands into it, like chef/pottery maker Kosuke Nabeta, who turns clay the way he creates his dishes. These are two different ways to create, with so many parallels.
Nos partenaires : Material Bank
Participants
Gregory Marchand Chef - Frenchie Restaurant
Kosuke NabetaChef-Ceramicist - Sola Restaurant
Marion GrauxCeramicist
Léa OutierJournalist
Gregory Marchand
Chef - Frenchie Restaurant
Greg Marchand began his culinary voyage in the West of France at the age of 15. He learned to cook in Nantes in the kitchens of the orphanage where he grew up. A few years later, he decided to leave France and cook all over the world for over a decade, in London, Hong Kong, Spain, and New York. It was at Fifteen in London that Jamie Oliver gave him the nickname “Frenchie”. He opened his first “Frenchie” restaurant upon his return to Paris in 2009, then a wine bar in 2011, a street-food restaurant in 2013, a wine shop in 2015, a chic bistro in London in 2016, and two new arrivals in Pigalle and Verbier (in Switzerland) in 2020. This chef has just opened a new restaurant within the 5-star Regina Experimental Hotel in Biarritz. Bold. Generous. Irreverent. Inspired. Open to the world, multicultural, and hungry for new encounters. This is what Greg is all about. It’s the Frenchie spirit.
Kosuke Nabeta
Chef-Ceramicist - Sola Restaurant
For Kosuke Nabeta, being a chef wasn’t part of the script. Still, as a ceramic artist, and through a set of circumstances beginning in his childhood, today, it seems almost like it was destined to happen. With his hands-on approach, creativity takes on its full meaning and is echoed both in the kitchen and in his ceramics. Once he arrived in France in 2018, he obtained his first Michelin star in 2019 and created his own ceramics for the exclusive use of his restaurant, during the lockdown period. Time and opportunity are the key factors that allowed Kosuke to create. His sharp-eyed curiosity and determination for things well done provide a constantly renewed challenge. With their unique, disruptive style, his ceramics are both delicate and raw, monochrome and full of life. Kosuke’s designs, both in ceramics and in his cuisine, are crafted in the same way: through understanding the process of transforming materials and undertaking each step himself. When there are failures, THAT is sometimes when things are the most beautiful. We know all about that in the world of cuisine as well, don’t we?
Marion Graux
Ceramicist
Marion’s designs are, first and foremost, made for dining. She makes dishware for chefs. The practicality of her pieces makes them truly noble, she believes. From her childhood, Marion has kept a taste for beauty and fine dining. She trained with two mentors: Augusto Tozzola, who taught her humility. For a year, she turned a pottery wheel 7 hours a day without firing a single piece. Then, with Dauphine Scalbert, she learned about enamels and the rigorous discipline of the studio. Marion Graux has dedicated her life to this profession with unbridled pleasure. For her, it is a commitment of body, mind, and spirit.
Léa Outier
Journalist
An independent journalist and author and a humble pottery-maker in her free time, Léa Outier writes features and investigations for publications such as M Le Monde magazine, Le Figaro, IDEAT, the JDD Magazine, GEO, and the Louis Vuitton guides. Her favorite subjects are artisanal craftsmanship and travel. In her work, she has also covered the close ties between the worlds of cuisine and ceramics, exploring the parallels between these two disciplines. She lives in Paris, a base camp for her to explore everything from nearby street corners to the other side of the world.