Self-made chef, Georgiana Viou

Self-taught. Being a chef and not having studied for it. To have followed another path before understanding, before knowing, that this is the job you really want to do. Even if they are not in the majority, some have arrived in the kitchen at the end of a winding or atypical path. Is this a strength or a handicap? That's what we set out to find out from Georgiania Viou, Grand de Demain 2022 Gault&Millau. Even if she has succeeded, the term "self-taught" still sticks to her.

Sylvie Berkowicz Published on 5/16/22 at 10:00 AM

At the end of the 2000s, Georgiana Viou left the Sorbonne, where she was studying literature and foreign civilizations, for cooking. She entered the field via television, taking part in competitions reserved for amateurs. In 2010, she was one of the finalists in the first season of "MasterChef". After a series of internships and positions, in 2015 she opened her own restaurant in Marseille: Chez Georgiana. A short-lived adventure. Since 2021, she has been based in Nîmes, at Le Rouge, the restaurant of Margaret Hôtel Chouleur. As fate would have it, she will be on the jury for the new edition of "MasterChef", alongside Thierry Marx and Yves Camdeborde, one of her mentors.

Gault&Millau: Is self-taught the right word for you?

Georgiania Viou: Yes! It still defines me today, even if it can have a slightly pejorative meaning. Learning by yourself is random, your training isn't supervised and you don't know how to respond to all the rules. In fact, that's why I decided to take my CAP as an independent candidate. I wanted to have at least one cooking diploma, in case I needed to prove anything in the future. I'm lucky in that it's a profession where theory isn't enough, you have to put it into practice in a professional environment. And there's nothing to stop you doing internships.

G&M: Did anyone ask you for this diploma?

G. V.: No, no one has ever asked for it. What we look at is your record of service. I was already over 30 when I started in the kitchen, and I hadn't done 36 houses either... You come in and say "Hello, my name is Georgiana, I'm a mother of three. I'd like to start cooking and do an internship with you!"So yes, you need real motivation. I've been lucky enough to meet a few chefs who have helped me. For example, in 2009, I rang the doorbell of Lionel Lévy (Intercontinental Marseille), and he was the only one who listened to me. Later, when I did "MasterChef", we met up again and he gave me a couple of addresses.

G&M: Does being self-taught give you a kind of freedom or advantage?

G. V.: Absolutely! It's also a strength not to be restricted. Because you don't know that something is weird, you just go for it! You give yourself the means to do something that succeeds, even though, on paper, it's no easy feat! Thierry Marx recently confided to me that when he takes part in cooking shows with amateurs, when their dish is announced, he sometimes wonders "What's he telling me? How will it turn out?"And that, in fact, he's often surprised when he tastes it to see that it works. I think I've retained a bit of that amateur soul. Even if, now, I consider myself a professional cook, which, by the way, I am!

G&M: Is there any chance of a self-taught chef getting into your kitchen?

G. V.: Anyone can get into my kitchen! I'm not biased. It's a question of personality. I'm naive enough to believe that it's my personality that has enabled me to stand out and push certain doors open. Even with the heaviest CV in the world, if the person in front of me can't convince me that they're in tune with me, with the spirit of the company, despite all their technical skills, they won't be taken on. While I was looking for someone very technical to compensate for my shortcomings, I now have a sous-chef who may not be the most qualified person in the kitchen, but she ticks so many other boxes that even if we're not great technicians, we're still good enough! We really manage to do something because we put our hearts into it and love what we do.