Guillaume Goupil signs chef's meals for two Transat Jacques Vabre skippers
For the next Transat Jacques Vabre Café L'OR, skippers Matthieu Perraut and Jean-Baptiste Gellée will be enjoying a new culinary experience: meals signed by chef Guillaume Goupil, specially designed to tackle the Atlantic.
At sea, food is often a matter of practicality: freeze-dried dishes, standardized canned goods, quickly swallowed calories. But this year, during the Transat Jacques Vabre Café L'OR 2025, meals will take on a whole new dimension for some skippers. The crew formed by Matthieu Perraut and Jean-Baptiste Gellée will be able to count on the talent of renowned chef and Meilleur Ouvrier de France, Guillaume Goupil, who has developed a series of gourmet dishes adapted to the constraints of ocean racing.
Gastronomy as a performance ally
guillaume Goupil, head of the Épisodes restaurant in Paris, has taken up a singular challenge: to translate the demands of haute cuisine into an appertized format capable of withstanding the extreme conditions of a transatlantic crossing. With the help of Nomad's Kitchen, specialists in this preservation process, he designed a culinary capsule that combines nutritional balance, authentic flavors and comfort for the spirit.
A menu worthy of a top restaurant... in the middle of the ocean
Gone are the days of uniform, soulless dishes: the sailors of the Ocean Fifty Inter Invest will embark on a genuine menu signed by the chef, with original creations such as green lentils with tarragon and haddock, roasted monkfish cheek spiced with ginger, or lamb shoulder perfumed with zaatar. Some recipes even have a personal dimension, such as a lamb navarin inspired by a family memory of Matthieu Perraut, designed to cheer him up when he's out at sea. For softer moments, an apple-peach crumble with vanilla and verbena will punctuate certain meals.
These dishes have been designed to adapt to the different moments of the crossing: from comforting dishes on cold nights in the English Channel and North Atlantic, to lighter, sunnier dishes as we approach the West Indies.
When culinary innovation meets ocean adventure
Beyond the pleasure of taste, this initiative underlines an evolution in the way skippers approach their food: no longer just as fuel, but as a genuine psychological support and performance weapon. As the Nomad's Kitchen team reminds us, appertization preserves textures, tastes and nutritional qualities, opening up a new realm of possibilities for cooking at sea.
By teaming up with Guillaume Goupil, the Inter Invest Sailing Team is not only aiming for the podium in the Transat Jacques Vabre : it also embraces the idea that, even in the heart of the ocean, the excellence and comfort of a great dish can make all the difference. Rendezvous on October 26, 2025 for the grand departure from the port of Le Havre.
