A taste for others. Against its better judgement, the pandemic had the politeness to demonstrate a human need, a very human need: the need to meet others. The strong upturn in business seminars as soon as the restrictions were lifted could only attest to this. A desire to exchange ideas and enjoy conviviality, in which the table obviously plays an eminent role. In this context, some establishments stand out more than others for their consummate art of combining great food and high-level thinking All the establishments that have made French gastronomy famous.
Blanc, Bocuse, Guérard, Loiseau, Lorain, Pic, Troisgros: these great houses, most of which are affiliated to the Relais & Châteaux chain, have remained in the firmament of the Michelin Guide from generation to generation. Not without evolving into resorts dedicated to gastronomy and hedonism. Originally more restaurant-hotel than hotel-restaurant, for a long time they offered just a few rooms for a comfortable night's sleep after an exceptional meal. Then came the addition of a more affordable bistro or lower-standard rooms, as well as a wellness area. These temples to gastronomy have become destinations in their own right, for longer stays, as well as meeting points for local customers.
In a discreet way, without always proclaiming it urbi et orbi, the hotels-restaurants of great chefs have also added corporate events on the menu of their establishment. As far back as the 1960s, Paul Bocuse, a leading figure in French nouvelle cuisine, set an example by diversifying into the events business when he bought the Abbaye de Collonges, his grandparents' former restaurant.
Next door to the Michelin-starred restaurant, this place steeped in history, with its festive decor enhanced by a limonaire mechanical organ dating from 1900 - a "Gaudin" that reproduces the equivalent of 110 musicians playing - has since been dedicated to events for 100 people up to 600 guests. " Dinners, gala evenings, seminars, as well as showrooms and trade fairs "The kitchen is under the direction and control of the gourmet restaurant. As for the kitchen, it is under the direction and control of the gourmet restaurant. " L'Abbaye de Collonges is not a Michelin-starred establishment, as it is really a reception venue. But, in itself, the cuisine on offer is of a very high standard. "he stresses.
However, there are a number of reasons for this, the MICE ingredient has often been added to the range offered by these establishments more recently. In Les Baux de Provence, for example, the Oustau de Baumanière offers its 150 m² Cabro d'Or room, which can seat 80 people in theatre format. All this is extended by a private terrace overlooking a vast garden, with a view over an exceptional setting. Similarly, in Valence, Maison Pic - under the impetus of Anne-Sophie Pic, who took over from her father Jacques - has a seminar room, renovated last year.
Located above the historic gourmet restaurant and seating just over 50 people, this meeting room benefits from natural lighting and a private view of the aromatic garden and kitchens. But the establishment, which has 16 rooms on the accommodation side, also has another room for business groups, the Scook space. This is a more intimate room, seating 12 people, with the special feature of being at the heart of the cookery school opened by Maison Pic in 2009, just a stone's throw from the restaurant. This is a great way to combine business with pleasure, as groups can spend some time doing their jobs and then continue their day with a cookery lesson given by one of the chefs from the establishment who has been appointed to the course.
©Aurelie Lamour
PIC group
For its part, the Relais Bernard Loiseau, which already had a room suitable for meetings, in 2017 acquired a new buildingThe Villa Loiseau des Sens features a 1500 m² spa, a bistro above and a 150 m² seminar room on the top floor. with a large bay window and a large touch screensays Cassandra Oppin, marketing and communications manager for the establishment based in Saulieu, Burgundy. It can accommodate up to 50 people in theatre format. ".
La Côte Saint-Jacques, in Joigny, is one of the finest restaurants closest to Paris, just an hour and fifteen minutes by car from Orly airport and the same amount of time by train from Gare de Lyon. It also offers its setting - on the banks of the Yonne - to corporate seminars. Jean-Michel Lorain's two Michelin-starred restaurant completely refurbished its seminar room last year. " We need Keeping up to date with companies' expectationsexplains Pâquerette Jacquemin, the hotel's sales manager. Now we need a very flexible room so that we can work in an island at one time, in a U at another, and then in a theatre. ".
A luminous room housed in the Maison de famille, the restaurant's original building. Dating back more than 70 years, this place, which has made the history of La Côte Saint-Jacques, also includes a spa, simpler rooms and is linked to the current Relais & Châteaux by an underground passageway. " When companies come here, it's for quiet, confidential working. This is an advantage over city hotels, where all the groups mingle on the same floor. "she continues.
The great outdoors and gastronomy
Because, as well as the prospect of gourmet breaks and exceptional meals to punctuate a working day, it's also this intimate and personal that makes all the difference. " When an executive committee comes to Les Prés d'Eugénie, it creates a different kind of bond. Gardens, outdoor games, pétanque: you feel more at home in a large holiday home in the countryside than in a hotel, with an amphitheatre here and 10 meeting rooms there. It's a very special place," says Anne-Laure Nussbaumer, manager of the hotel-restaurant created by Michel and Christine Guérard in Eugénie-Les-Bains, in the Landes region of France. It has been awarded three stars since 1977, a record.
" The events we host range from 10-person executive committees for very large companies to seminars for pharmaceutical laboratories, says Anne-Laure Nussbaumer. However, as we are a family-run establishment, with a clientele who come to relax, we prefer to limit residential seminars to 15-20 people. ". If the groups stay for a few days, the programme will include at least a gala dinner in a Michelin-starred restaurantThere's also the possibility of a meal at the Auberge de la Ferme aux Grives, except on Wednesdays and Thursdays, when it's closed. All this can be complemented by a visit to the nearby château and cellars of Michel Guérard, or by wine or yoga workshops, or by walks or bike rides.
Seminars à la carte
Like the Guérard family in Eugénie-les-Bains, Georges Blanc has made his Ain village, Vonnas, a world-famous place. A world revolving around the three-star chef since 1981It comes from a long line of ancestors going back to Mère Blanc, recognised by Curnonsky as "the best of the best". the best cook in the world "in the 1930s. " Around the main square in Vonnas, almost all the buildings belong to Monsieur Blanc. "says Ludivine Coque, the school's executive assistant.
Spread over four hectares, the 'Village Blanc' combines a five-star hotel with a gourmet restaurant, a 1,000 m² spa, a three-star hotel - Les Saules & Spa - and the regional family restaurant l'Auberge 1900. And, of course, everything you need for professional meetings. This means modular seminar rooms of around 100 m², a cinema adapted for presentations - the Cinespace Laurent Gerra, another famous local and close friend of the Michelin-starred chef - and also, since last year, the La Grange sur l'Eau space. Located in the heart of the Auberge, this half-seminar room half-restaurant offers small groups of around twenty people a unity of place and action, allowing them to work and eat or have an aperitif.
" And this, sncluding Château d'Epeyssoles, just outside Vonnas, which is primarily designed for weddings, but can also accommodate corporate seminars.concludes Ludivine Coque. In this waywe can do anythingFrom a small meeting of four people to a 200-person seminar, from the very high end to the simplest things, all enhanced by activities such as treasure hunts that we can organise in the village or 2CV rallies with outside service providers. You can have a turnkey service with a sales department that links the various services. ".
Accustomed to serving their customers in the best possible way, these establishments give the same care to satisfy the wishes of the organisers. " Everything can be customised to suit the group's budgetexplains Cassandra Oppin, from Relais Bernard Loiseau. We can accommodate participants at the five-star hotel or just across the road at La Tour d'Auxois, a three-star hotel that we own. We can also organise meals at the Loiseau des Sens bistro or the gourmet restaurant. Or, for small executive committees of six, at the chef's table in the heart of the kitchens. ".
A meeting with the chef in the kitchen, a private tour of the restaurant in the company of Dominique Loiseau, who has maintained the restaurant's standing since the tragic death of her husband in 2003: the prestige of the place and its poignant history ". as companies seek to give meaning to their seminars "says Cassandra Oppin. As for activities, in addition to quad biking and hiking in the Morvan, the Relais Bernard Loiseau can leverage internal synergies with its restaurants in Beaune - Loiseau des Vignes - and Dijon - Loiseau des Ducs - to combine a visit to the Hospices de Beaune or the Cité des Vins with quality meals.
Côtes du Rhône at Valence, Burgundy at Saulieu or Joigny, picnics with wine and olive oil tasting at Baumanière: these highly gastronomic establishments also have the best of their terroir to offer. " As we're near Chablis, I know a number of winegrowers, all of whom I've tested. All you have to do is give me your seminar, tell me what you want, and I'll follow up. everything from A to Zsays Pâquerette Jacquemin, from La Côte Saint-Jacques. Organising an event is one thing. But you've won your bet when you see the same seminar coming back the following year.. It means we've been good. And that's always a pleasure.
