125 years at lunch – Style

Ritz Paris is the main Parisian newsmaker of the fall. The legendary hotel on Place Vendôme has been celebrating its 125th anniversary for several months now. The Golden Gala opened the celebrations – the “golden” party surprised even spoiled Paris with its scale. Champagne flowed from fountains, black caviar was served in tablespoons, a ballet was given on stage by stars, including the Paris Opera, it blinded the eyes, fireworks thundered, the sparks of which flew to the statue of Napoleon on the Vendôme Column.

The next festive salvo was fired at the newly opened Espadon restaurant. The Ritz’s flagship restaurant has moved to the historic site closer to rue Cambon overlooking the hotel’s internal garden where it opened in 1956. It received the name “Swordfish” in honor of its legendary regular and passionate fisherman Ernest Hemingway. The hero of his story “The Old Man and the Sea” dreamed of a big fish during the day, and at night he dreamed of Africa. The current Ritz bosses hardly thought about this when they made an offer to Eugenie Beziat to head Espadon, but it turned out symbolically. The fragile girl, who grew up between Gabon, Congo and Côte d’Ivoire and worked in the kitchens of the greatest French chefs, is now attracting the attention of the entire gastronomic Paris. Of course: the first female chef in the history of the Ritz, young and not a star. Professionals sampled her signature cuisine, where Africa delicately meets France, in Villeneuve-Loubet, a city far from haute gastronomy and never before on the radar of the Michelin guide. Now Eugenie is writing a new page in the history of the Ritz – with respect for the past and with a commitment to the future.

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“Every evening we play a theatrical and gastronomic performance”

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— How did your story with Ritz Paris begin?

— It all started with a call. The Ritz HR department called La Flibuste restaurant in Villeneuve-Loubet, near Nice, where I received my first star. It was shortly before the start of the shift. I was offered the position of chief of Espadon over the phone! I was surprised, touched, and confused. It would be madness to refuse. Although accepting the offer was also a kind of madness.

— What is it like to work in a hotel around which there are so many myths and expectations?

– Of course, this is a challenge. My team and I cook, this is our job, but the main thing remains the Ritz – a character house, an icon house, a legendary house.

— At the same time, you boldly write a new history, prepare your own signature cuisine, without looking back at the great predecessors…

— Auguste Escoffier, invited by the hotel founder Cesar Ritz, remains the father of gastronomy, the man who turned the entire restaurant world upside down, established new rules and set the highest bar. All the skills and techniques of the French school come from him, and I am a product of this school. Both Escoffier and Ritz were visionaries, always going one step ahead. And the fact that Ritz Paris again invited the young chef speaks precisely of following the experience of his predecessors.

—Where does your passion for food come from?

— My parents are epicureans; at home they always loved to eat well and entertain guests beautifully. Everyone in the family cooked: mother, father, and grandmother. At an amateur level, but with great love. Each had their own specialization. The culinary traditions of Italy and Spain come from my grandmother, her “cuisine of the sun.”

— What made you become a professional?

“Dinner at Hélène Darroze’s in Paris—my parents gave me this gift for my twentieth birthday. The tasting set included an oyster. I love the iodine taste, for me it is the taste of childhood. But Hélène Darroze paired the oyster with a green Granny Smith apple. It was a culinary shock. I was fascinated by the creativity of the kitchen. I realized that I want the same…

– … and said goodbye to the Faculty of Linguistics, entered the School of Hoteliers in Toulouse, went through the kitchens of the very, very French chefs – Michel Guerard, Michel Sarran, Stéphane Garcia. How was it working with them?

– Intense! I learned a lot: team work, hierarchy, product quality, taste – the whole basis of the profession from them. After 18 years of living in Africa in France, I had to fully immerse myself in the local culture and adapt. I learned by listening to my bosses. Then there was a desire to express myself.

— How did you find your style? You can often hear from chefs that culinary emotions return to the roots when they manage to get behind the closed doors of the past through taste..

— Marks from childhood remain with us for life. Smells, tastes – all this is stored somewhere in our memory, so I had to thoroughly work with my memories. I analyzed a lot, even called my old friends and asked them a lot of questions to remember what we ate. I wrote so many pages! Good exercise.

— Do the international public—hotel clients—understand your African sound?

— I see that my cuisine is understandable to international clients, because when you use spices, you automatically appeal to the world. Every evening we have guests from the USA, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and everyone is greeted with a reminder of some native taste.

— How do you determine the style of your kitchen?

— French gastronomic cuisine with my inspirations. For example, now we have poultry on the menu. This is a classic of the genre, and we prepare it using all French traditional techniques. First we present it to the client whole. Then it is baked, then we cut out the fillet, after introducing flavored oil under the skin, ours is with citrus fruits. I mean, it’s a very traditional recipe, but I sew personal memories into it. For me they are associated with chicken yassa – a Senegalese dish that has citrus and onions, creating a slightly smoky flavor that I adore. This recipe is not in any textbook, but all the techniques are French classics.

— Tell us about the products you like to work with.

— Citrus fruits, spices, natural essences, herbs. There is now even a small garden on the roof of the Ritz, which was part of the restaurant project. And our large vegetable garden is located 30 km from Paris, next to Versailles. We grow all our vegetables there.

— What about meat, fish, and other products from Rengis (the main wholesale market in Paris. — Kommersant Style)?

— No, in Paris there is not only Rengis. I prefer to work with small suppliers; their approach to work is closer to me. I always do this, I don’t need a supermarket.

— You are the first woman to head a restaurant at the Ritz, and in general the French gastronomic scene has recently begun to acquire a female face. Do you have shop solidarity? Women’s Chefs Club? Do you feel like you have to work harder than your male colleagues to prove equality?

– No, I don’t discriminate. I was chosen for my work, not because I am a woman. As for associations, in the profession, as in any relationship, there are people who are close to you in spirit, and others who are not. For example, I am new to Paris, and we have a small circle of chefs who are also taking their first steps in the capital. Solidarity, support and exchange of experiences regardless of gender.

— Do you hold on to the stars of the Michelin guide?

— I will never forget my star in La Flibuste, received in 2020, this is an award not only for me, but for the whole team. She is very dear to me. But at Ritz Paris, at Espadon, the main thing is the clients. Every evening we play our theatrical and gastronomic performance. If he is appreciated and rewarded, then we will be the happiest.

Interviewed by Maria Sidelnikova