Paperjam: Can you take us back to the beginning of your career?
Christophe Hay: I come from a modest background: my mother’s family are farmers and my father was a butcher. This taught me a taste for farm produce, hard work, working the land and animals. I went to the Lycée Hôtelier in Blois. Then I joined the team at the restaurant Au rendez-vous des pêcheurs, which had one star. That’s where I learned about rigour and fatigue. It was a great learning experience.
Then I met Paul Bocuse, “Monsieur Paul.” I joined him in Lyon in 2001. He then asked me to go to Orlando, Florida, to run his restaurant. I stayed there for five years. I learnt a lot. English, of course, but also getting to know other people. I’m a country boy, and social contact wasn’t my strong point. The experience opened me up to the world and I was keen to learn. Then I returned to Paris and became the executive chef for the kitchens of the Hôtel de Sers, the Hôtel Edouard 7 and the Bel-Ami. I learned how to build a team and open a restaurant. It was also an opportunity for me to discover what it’s like to have a business plan, to acquire new management skills and to run an establishment on behalf of investors.
And one day you decided to set up your own business?
In 2013, a friend of mine pointed out that a small village inn was for sale in Montlivault, near Blois. That’s how I started my life as an entrepreneur. I invested €100,000 and asked the bank for a loan of €400,000. We opened La maison d’à côté in May 2014 with a team of eight people. On 5 February 2015, we received our first star. It was also around this time that I started my garden, with 3,000m2 of fertile land that was used to feed our kitchen. In 2016, I bought a PMU bar and we added 12 rooms and a bistro to our offer, making gastronomy accessible to everyone. I invested €1.5m at the time. In January 2019, we were awarded a second star. Then in 2019, I opened another restaurant near Orléans, and we also received a star.
Have you always invested on your own?
Indeed, and I want to keep it that way. I’m making my own way and I’ve created my own line of conduct. I don’t deviate from it. I’m aware that success also attracts malicious people and jealousy. It’s a way of protecting myself. And I’m lucky that the banks follow me, thanks to sound management and a targeted lending policy.
Today, you are at the head of the Fleur de Loire establishment, in the former hospice in Blois.
Yes, I sold the Montlivault establishments to embark on this new adventure in 2021. We opened in June 2022, after an investment of €9m on my part and €15m on the part of the owner. We went very far in our choices, whether in terms of architecture, equipment or decoration. There’s a signature restaurant, which now has two red stars and one green star, a gourmet restaurant, a pastry kiosk--a concept I’d like to duplicate elsewhere too--rooms and suites, and a spa, in partnership with Sisley, a company that originated in the region. The team now numbers 130 people.
And at the same time, you’ve continued your agricultural production?
We now have 1.5 hectares of vegetable gardens, three hectares of truffle fields and a herd of Wagyu cattle. We started with 37 cattle in 2018 and we now have 90. We are also developing a 3,000m2 asparagus conservatory and an apple conservatory. We also have a citrus greenhouse. Thanks to all this, we are self-sufficient for our three restaurants for almost half the year and the surplus produce is distributed to our staff. I’m interested in the agriculture of tomorrow. I also want things to move forward in this area, and we’re working on it. We need to replace more and more of our animal proteins with plant proteins, and work on product quality rather than volume.
Hay in the vegetable garden. Photo: Maïkya Studio
You’re also special in that you work with freshwater fish. What do you like about this product?
I consider myself a “terroirist.” I like to promote the products of a particular region, the work of the soil and of people. We’re located on the banks of the Loire, a river where there are fish with high-quality flesh, but which have not been promoted much until now. I’m keen to showcase these products in my cooking.
Where does your clientele at Fleur de Loire come from?
All over the world, of course. We’re only two hours from Paris, so it’s pretty easy to get there. We also have customers from Luxembourg and Belgium, who visit the Loire region or stop off on their way to the ocean. We also get a lot of Americans, an important clientele for us. But we’re also lucky to have a very fine and loyal local clientele who have been with us from the start. This means we’re less subject to seasonal fluctuations and we can work well in winter too.
During your visit to Luxembourg, you will be speaking at the Luxembourg Hotel and Tourism School in Diekirch. Is it important to you to be close to young people?
Whenever I get the chance, I involve schools and training centres in my experiences. For the Michelin Guide gala dinner held at Chambord, I worked with the region’s secondary schools and hotel management schools. It was a fantastic experience! In Diekirch, I’ll be speaking mainly to explain my career path, the risks of the job, the fatigue, the pressure, the difficulty of having a private life, but also all the satisfaction and joy that it brings.
What are your plans for the future?
We’re not hiding the fact that we’re aiming for a third star. Every star we win means 30% more business and sales. To achieve this, we need to continue to do our job properly and invest, both financially and, above all, in people.
This article in Paperjam. It has been translated and edited for Delano.