With the Vendée Globe 2024 just 2 months away, Éric Guérin, renowned chef at La Mare aux Oiseaux, is embarking on a culinary adventure that could best be described as "gastronautical". Known for his star-studded creations, Guérin must adapt his haute gastronomy to the severe constraints of conditions at sea. The challenge? To create tasty, nutritious meals that remain delicious after sterilization, to accompany the skippers in this extreme race. By combining technical innovation and creativity, he hopes to offer sailors essential gastronomic support to maintain their stamina and morale throughout the event. Meet the ocean's gourmet chef.
How did you come up with the idea of preparing meals for skippers involved in ocean racing?
During the second confinement, I was confined to a catamaran in Guadeloupe with a friend who had just signed up for the double-handed transatlantic race. A non-professional bon vivant, I was concerned about his meals on board during the race, and came up with the idea of a challenge to prepare some tasty meals for him, following a short trip synopsis.
When we got back, I talked it over with my assistant Benjamin Larue, who's passionate about the sport, and we started testing. This first step won over skipper Fabien Delahaye, who put his trust in us right away, and the professional skipper community did the rest through word-of-mouth.
You've accompanied skippers on previous races, so tell us about those experiences. Did the skippers' feedback lead to any innovations or significant changes in your culinary approach?
Every experience helps us to move forward, and every return of a skipper is synonymous with evolution.
We build our menus with them, on the choice of dishes, like Yoann Richomme who asked us to work on a tartiflette or foie gras for the Vendée Globe. Every personality has different needs and desires, and we have to take them into account if we want to make the meal a moment of pleasure, but also a real source of energy.
Some want more or less sauce, or a different weight, sweet or savory; the size of the cuts is also different, and we can also have requests from vegetarians. We do tailor-made products.
For Yoann, we prepare all his meals for the Vendée Globe. Most recently, we accompanied Charles Caudrelier on his round-the-world Ultim race. It's an honor, but also a commitment on our part. We follow the races, and when our skippers win, it's a real pleasure.
In 2024, which skippers will benefit from your culinary support during the Vendée Globe?
We will be accompanying several skippers during the Vendée Globe: Yoann Richomme on Paprec Arkea, Charlie Dalin on Macif Santé Prévoyance, Violette Dorange on Devenir, Isabelle Joschke on MACSF, Justine Mettraux on Teamwork - Team Snef, Benjamin Ferré on Monnoyeur Duo for Job, and Nicolas Lunven on Holcim PRB.
Weight is a crucial factor in racing. What solutions have you found to create meals that are both light and complete, while respecting the weight constraints imposed on the boats?
When weight is a constraint, skippers vary between our meals and freeze-dried food, but more and more, they prefer to make the choice to eat well, with healthy, well-cooked products that give them the security of good energy, and make the choice to conserve as much food as possible.
Given the absence of a fridge and the variations in temperature during the race, how did you adapt your recipes so that they would keep well and remain tasty until the end of the Vendée Globe?
We have made great strides in developing the technique and bought an autoclave so that we can sterilize our own preparations, which on average can be kept for up to 2 years at room temperature. Most of the work has gone into preserving textures and flavors with this method; we've done a lot of different trials.
Do you plan to include special or festive meals at key moments during the race?
Yes, we generally have "feel-good" dishes that bring energy to the heart, a kind of Proust's madeleine. Either it's a sailor's wish for this or that product, or we prepare more exceptional dishes for them, such as Yoann's foie gras, pigeon with peas or lobster from our coasts.
What are the logistical challenges how will meals be prepared, stored and transported to the ships? Where and when will these meals be prepared, and how will they be shipped to guarantee their quality?
The challenge remains human, and we offer the human touch to make the difference. My assistant Benjamin produces the products himself in a separate workshop, and I supply him with all the sauces. For service, it's Benjamin who delivers on site, and who takes returns or requests directly. More and more, we receive teams and sponsors at La Mare aux Oiseaux to test new dishes, and also for communication meetings. I also go out on the race boats once or twice a year to see and taste the dishes in action.
