CHRISTOPHE HAY, A FARMER AND A CHEF

« The word “terroir” has a great deal of importance for me in my day-to-day life. »

How do you define yourself as a Chef?
My identity is my farmer identity. I say it every day and it’s something strong and important to me. Above all, I am a farmer and a Chef. I created my company in 2018 and the restaurant Christophe Hay is the evolution of what was La Maison d’à côté.

What does mean Paths of Excellence in your daily life?
For me, the Path of Excellence is there every day. It’s what I say to my teams. If today Elle & Vire Professionnel® wants to lead us towards these Paths of Excellence, it’s precisely to allow us to continue to improve our cooking through the dairy products.

What does mean « Selecting the best terroir » for you?
The advantage we have in the Loire Valley is that there is a multitude of local products, a multitude of small producers and an extremely rich terroir. We are the French garden. When you talk about a product, you have to know about it through and through. Because my discourse is a sincere one. I know what I am talking about. I know what I want to share with my clients. That’s what I care about.

How does Excellence cream find is place in a kitchen’s Chef?
When we make sauce bases at our restaurant, there is never a moment when we don’t use cream and butter - that is part of what gets the tastebuds going. That’s what gives the unctuousness that is so essential to the tasting experience. The aim is for it to be unchanging throughout the year, to have the same texture, the same consistency, and, most of all, the same taste. 

I think that Excellence cream is used by a lot of Chefs and it should continue to be promoted so that we can help this industry to flourish.