Chanel presented its cruise collection to Marseille and appropriately celebrated the event with a series of formal dinners, which brought together guests, models and members of the house. This post-show tradition could have been perfect and gone unnoticed, choosing only the best of Mediterranean cuisine, a Michelin-starred restaurant or even asking to choose a luxury restaurant.tablissement étoilé, or even asking a great chef to be the mother for one evening and to offer this strange large family a starred menu.
But Chanel did not want to do what others did and continued to shake the fashion tree, as it has done since its inception, imagining a new silhouette for women and taking jersey and tweed from the men's wardrobe. For the occasion, the Rue Cambon fashion house chose to rely on the chef Valentin Raffali, who caused a sensation in Marseille with his restaurant Livingtson, was recently invited to organize theWe Are Ona event in California and is a candidate for Top Chef this season.
It's a good bet, given that the young man embodies a vibrant culinary landscape, focused on the product and its travel associations, far from starched tablecloths and mouth-blown crystal glasses. Valentin Raffali's cuisine is intelligent, fresh and thunderous, and Chanel didn't hesitate. The result? In the aftermath of the event, organized as a buffet (another rarity, given that houses generally prefer the seated format), the young chef declared his love for him at first sight on his account Instagram: : “In the hands of Chanel I lived the most tender and elegant experience of my life. I know these are strong words, I struggle to write, I am overwhelmed by the kindness, precision and intimacy of the house. It exists, I have it lived, it's real, I pinch myself that it's late tonight, I have to go to sleep but I can't, so I write to remember her.” We didn't need Vanity Fair to ask her to take us back to an evening evidently different from all the others.
Stuffed anchovies from the Côte Bleue, amberjack, pink radish, Banon pea tartlet, Marseille soup with new garlic, Chantilly strawberries from Carpentras: how did you come up with this evening's menu?
«When I heard that Chanel was coming to Marseille, I immediately told myself that I had to participate in this adventure through my cuisine. We met and I explained to them what Chanel meant to me: my father's perfume, but also my perfume. For the menu, what I wanted above all was precision, readability, not to hide anything, deciding to keep things simple, even if this meant, paradoxically, making the writing more complex. Keeping things simple is often tricky. I'm sure Chanel studios would agree. The idea we shared was anything but excessive: we wanted to focus on the beauty of taste. The menu had to be sincere, legible, beautiful and discreet, in the image of the Maison.”
What were the key ingredients and where did they come from?
«Obviously the idea was to represent Marseille. I never work with “top ingredients”: I like the uniqueness of what is available, I use ingredients that grow locally depending on the season, this is part of the DNA of my cuisine. On the tables, for example, you can find many vegetables – broad beans from Bandol, peas from Etang de Berre, asparagus from Luberon – but also fish from the Côte Bleue that I cooked with my team. Finding them is the keystone of my work as a chef. The producers are friends, we've known each other for years.”
Was it a “Marseillaise” menu?
«Yes, even if I have problems with labels. Marseille is first and foremost a crossroads, the crossroads of the Mediterranean. But with the products we use, we obviously end up with a very Marseille menu, and I think this is one of the reasons why it has been so popular. We wanted to keep it simple, so that everyone felt at ease: there were things that were very simple and at the same time very elaborate, and it's the combination of everything that made this dinner magnificent. In my opinion, the meeting between the classics and modernism must be done with moderation, and we have succeeded.”
Do you believe there is a Marseille culinary identity?
«Yes, of course it exists, starting from the port and the water. But I believe that the Marseille culinary culture is based first and foremost on being together as a family. People are more important than what you eat, and I too share this value.”
How Marseille's culinary identity is developing?
«I would never say that I am developing something. But if I'm doing it, I'm very proud of it. I like to introduce the Mediterranean identity in a delicate way. Marseille is a passport for me, and it's mine when I cook abroad: I use techniques from here in cuisines from other countries. And I often like to take what I have appreciated elsewhere and bring it back home to Marseille. My style and my cuisine are, like Marseille, open and welcoming!
Is this your first time working with a fashion house like Chanel?
«Yes, it's my first time and there is no experience like the one I just had with Chanel. I was introduced to a family. It is a global experience, more than a simple project. This dinner represents more than a month of work and what I remember most is the quality of the exchanges, the kindness, the elegance. I like the phrase: “True luxury is not what you wear, but how you carry yourself.” I had never had an experience like this: Chanel is a house where I felt good, where I was listened to and respected. I was struck by her open-mindedness, the carte blanche that I was given, an ode to simplicity. It was also my first Chanel experience beyond dinner – it was also my first fashion show and I will remember it for the rest of my life. It was fabulous and, strangely, the slightly chaotic atmosphere created by the weather and the wind made it even more poetic.”
Source: Vanity Fair
I’m Susan Karen, a professional writer and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in Entertainment news, writing stories that keep readers informed on all the latest developments in the industry. With over five years of experience in creating engaging content and copywriting for various media outlets, I have grown to become an invaluable asset to any team.
