Vanessa and Philippe Dupre
Philippe is a chef. He comes from Lyon, which gastronome Curnonsky described in 1935 as “the world capital of gastronomy”. With its over one thousand restaurants and bistros, Lyon has one of the highest number of such venues per inhabitant in France. In addition, Lyon cuisine is “exported” both within France and abroad. In Romania, it arrived thanks to the Dupre family, as Philippe recalls:
Roxana Vasile, 01.01.1970, 02:00
“When I got to Romania for the first time in 2004, wishing to visit Bucharest, the country seemed very attractive for my field of activity. This is how I decided to sell the restaurant I had in France to set up shop here. I came again in 2006, I did my research, and found the present venue in late 2007. We opened in early 2009. Unfortunately, the economic crisis had just begun, and the difficulties came along with it, and they lasted about a year and a half. But I kept persevering! It was very difficult to back down in any case. Today we celebrate six years of existence, and I am very pleased. The clientele is 70% French and international. However, we have more and more Romanians, and the trend seems to reverse. I have faithful Romanian customers who love France, love French products, who know my country, they visited it and are very interested in French cuisine. It is great to be able to talk to people filled with such curiosity”.
In fact, Philippe Dupre has learned and speaks fairly well Romanian:
“I had to. It was part of my integration in Romania. It seemed essential for understanding a country to speak its language and adapt. I am married, I have two kids, and I thought this place has a lot in common with France — the French school, for instance. There were a lot of factors which made it easier for me to set up in Bucharest: three-hour flight to France, the least of time differences…”
Even though he’s been in Romania for quite a few years, Philippe hasn’t had the time to travel and visit the country much. He is deeply dedicated to his restaurant:
“The restaurant is in Romana Square. The décor is elegant, we just changed it, two months ago. The kitchen opens towards the guestroom, which seats about 50. It is convivial. I try to talk to every customer, in so far as that’s possible. We have some things on the menu which are impossible to turn down, I would say — smoked salmon, which I smoke myself, foie gras… traditional stuff. I am a fan of truffles, and when autumn comes, I stock up on Romanian truffles. In peak season in France, early January, I use truffles brought from there. In Romania I have a few suppliers, one in Buzau, another in Sinana. There are loads of truffles, so I get them from several places. Truffles, and mushrooms in general, are wonderful products, very little used in Romania, and hard to find on the market, but all you need to do is get to know the right people”.
Philippe Dupre has no regrets about moving to Romania with his family. He manages to have a quality of life similar to that in France. If some expats think ahead and make plans after a few years spent here, Philippe sees himself here for a long time to come. In fact, he only visits his native country two times a year:
“Oh, no, I don’t have any plans to leave Romania. There is no limit or date. I feel good here, I follow closely the cuisine scene in France, and try to do my best to offer it in Romania.”
