Meet Vanessa Besnard | food writer & foodie

We had the good fortune of connecting with Vanessa Besnard and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Vanessa, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I was born into a gourmet family My mother’s side of the family (from Brittany, France) cooks very well, and my father’s side (from Paris) is crazy about restaurants.
In French we say “je suis tombée dans la marmite toute petite” (“I fell into the pot as a child”), which means “I fell under the spell ever since I was a child”. I was passionate about restaurants and gastronomy.

After my studies in modern literature, I worked in the publishing of guidebooks but I very quickly realised that I wanted to do the work of my authors and not spend my life behind a desk. I wanted to eat, write, and be independent.
So I left/gave up everything to devote myself to my passion. I created a blog on which I referenced my favourite Parisian addresses, and then I started to do (chroniques gastronomiques = gastronomic chronicles or columns?) at Radiofrance.

I then created an instagram account dedicated to food in 2016.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Writing on my blog was a real pleasure, but I wanted to be published. I wanted to have MY paper guides in my hands. My very first guide was about the best places to have a drink in Paris: sightseeing bars, jazz bars, beer bars, oyster bars…
Several followed:
– Restos du Monde à Paris: the best of world gastronomy
– Brunches and snacks in Paris
– A Chacun son Resto
– Bistros of great chefs

My next one will be published on the 9th of February 2023: the 100 unusual restaurants in Paris. You will then know where to eat hidden, barefoot, in the sand, on a boat, on a swing, in the dark or where to eat fermented food.
I am currently writing the next one, which will be about the 100 most romantic tables in Paris (coming out in spring 2023).

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m crazy about the Left Bank, so my walk would start in my favourite neighbourhood: Saint-Germain des Prés. We would go for a coffee in my HQ, the “BDM”, (Bar du Marché), in order to enjoy the Agitation of the neighbourhood and the jazz tunes in the street. After a walk along the riverbanks and the Pont des Arts, we would head to a bistro for lunch: Christine, Didon, Chez Marcel for eggs and mayo followed by tête de veau (calf’s head).

A digestive stroll towards the Quartier latin, tea time at The Tea Caddy, the oldest tea room in Paris, a few choux to take away at Odette’s, back to the docks, this time to see Notre-Dame under repair. We would cross the Seine to discover the other bank: shopping at the Samaritaine, the mythical hot chocolate at Angelina or tea time at the Meurice, before going to dinner at the Poule au Pot (JF Piège) or the Petit Riche, a bistro recently taken over by Guy Savoy.

In the evening: Montmartre by night, and one last drink at Medellin to enjoy the hectic South American atmosphere.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I must pay tribute to two mentors: Gilles Pudlowski, a great French gastronomic critic, with a prodigious memory. He pushed me, encouraged me, and unknowingly created wonderful professional opportunities for me.
I also have Stefanie Renoma to thank. She made me feel legitimate in this profession, and more confident in front of the camera.

Website: www.lesdelicesdevanessa.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanessabesnard/?hl=fr

Image Credits
credit (c) vanessa besnard and stefanie renoma