Beachcomber Magazine 04

Julien Laugier THE RIGHT MIX? ENJOYMENT OF THE GUESTS LE BON MARIAGE ? C’EST LE PLAISIR DU CONVIVE The head sommelier at the Royal Palm Beachcomber Luxury has more than one trick (or trip) up his sleeve. Yet in all his travels, he still remains faithful to the freshness and joy of his native Luberon. Le chef sommelier du Royal Palm Beachcomber Luxury a plus d’un tour (du monde) dans son sac. De ses voyages, il a gardé néanmoins la fraîcheur et le bonheur de son Luberon natal. BY FRANÇOIS SIMON PHOTOGRAPHS NATHALIE BAETENS W hen you’re lucky enough to be born in a land of plenty, it seems strange to leave a place where you find the best fruits in France, illustrious wines, a fertile earth, and an exquisite luminosity. Julien Laugier was born in Apt, in the south of France. It’s a beautiful county town with its plane trees, its slow pace of life, and its huge shaded squares where you can sit and enjoy a coffee. And indeed, Julien’s grand- father ran one of these terraces in the town centre, Lou Pastre, on the cours Lauze de Perret, where people exchanged jokes and witticisms, the manna of a happy life. His family relished good eating. The butcher’s and charcuterie on the Place du Postel was run by the same grandfather. Here people pick truffles, wait for the olive harvest, the melon season (Cavaillon), and the apricot season (here). When he was only nine, Julien would sip all the regional wines, so it was no surprise when he decided to make his passion his career. WELCOME TO THE WORLD One supposes then that paradise on earth extends beyond the birthplace. That well-being can be pernicious and even more demanding. This then is when the world opens wide. Some time spent at hotel and catering school, trainee in Marseille at the Côte de Bœuf , managing 25,000 bottles (2800 names), discovering Malaga wines, Italian wines and, once the spring is tightened, travelling back. This time to Valence and the Maison Pic (2007-2010) where he was already responsible for control of purchasing. Then followed some time at Maxim’s in Hong Kong, the Ritz Carlton in Shanghai and even  Avignon (where he taught student sommeliers). Julien realised then that you make clients for life. They follow you, they go before you. And that is how sommeliers, cooks and directors migrate. They look for the air currents to take them up on high, slip under a cumulus, cross a few deltas, and end up here. Or there. ROYAL PALM: THE TROPICAL EDEN Dubai, the Cheval Blanc Randheli in the Maldives, then Sri Lanka… and finally here, at the Royal Palm Beachcom- ber Luxury. Julien Laugier is full of enthusiasm for Michel de Mattéis’ cooking. He looks for the right pairings, and what he finds, he shares with his guests: he says that what makes him happy “ is not necessarily finding the best food pairing. Rather, it is knowing what will best correspond with what the guests want. That’s why I like to