It was during a dinner at Hélène Darroze’s home with her parents that Eugénie Béziat’s life changed. While studying literature at the University of Mirail, she was so moved by a dish of oysters in jelly and green apples, that she decided to take up a career in gastronomy. Her BTS in hotel and restaurant management led her into the kitchens of famous chefs such as Michel Guérard and Michel Sarran. In 2018, she took the helm at La Flibuste in Nice, where she was awarded a Michelin star and welcomed trainees from the Des étoiles et des femmes association. ” Being a woman in the kitchen is the future. Women in the kitchen have to make a comeback, because that’s how it all started, it seems to me, with the “mères lyonnaises” (the famous Lyon women Chefs). “Her commitment goes beyond sisterhood for this chef who grew up in Africa until she was 18. “I think we’re entitled to a second chance in life, sometimes we haven’t had one at all so, indeed it’s a profession that allows you to quickly evolve in the field.” Eugénie shares this hands-on approach with her brigades, such as the one at L’Espadon at the Ritz, the prestigious establishment she now manages and for which she has also just been awarded a star.
Association
Stars and Women
Des Étoiles et des Femmes was initiated in September 2015 by La Table de Cana, the association Festin and Marseille Solutions, based on an original idea by Alain Ducasse. Based on the threefold observation that the unemployment rate for women in priority neighborhoods exceeds 50%, that female representation in gastronomy is low, and that there is a real shortage of talent in the restaurant industry, these players decided to create a high-level, free, diploma-certifying training program for women who are far from employment. Convinced of the importance of equal opportunity, diversity and inclusion, the association has mobilized a network of gastronomic and Michelin-starred chefs, such as Eugénie Biézat, renowned for their work and committed to the pursuit of taste and care in the kitchen. These chefs are responsible for guiding beneficiaries through an accelerated CAP cuisine (Vocational Certificate in Culinary Arts) training course (in 9 months instead of 2 years). What makes Des Étoiles et des Femmes so special is not only the way it mobilizes the associative network, but also the individual, tailor-made support it provides. set up to remove peripheral obstacles to a return to employment (childcare, housing, etc.). And it works! Proof of this is the 98% success rate for the CAP at the end of the training course. On the strength of this success, Des Étoiles et des Femmes has spread to 14 towns in France and has no intention of stopping there!
