jr
interview and photography by OLIVIER ZAHM
refettorio paris, located in
the crypt of the madeleine
church, is a free restaurant
for the homeless run
by the best chefs
OLIVIER ZAHM — Who are the superstar chefs cooking for this free restaurant? And how are you able to involve them in the project?
JR — Every day, we have a different chef. We’ve had Alain Ducasse, Yannick Alléno, Daniel Humm, Tatiana Levha, Jean-Francois Piège, Michel Troisgros — all the chefs you can name came to cook. And every night, 15 volunteers come. We train them, then they welcome people as if they were at a three-star restaurant: “Hello, do you need to put anything in the coat check? Follow me to your table. Do you have any food restrictions?” So, it’s a whole different concept. You eat on real plates, in a beautifully designed place, and drink from real…