Romuald Remy | Paris Gourmet

 By Mégane Fleury 

After many years as an employee, Romuald Remy set up his own business in Issoire in the Puy-de-Dôme in 2007. This handball enthusiast passes on to his colleagues the pleasure of working as a team. The chocolatier also shares with them a taste for challenging yourself, acquired in particular through his competition experiences, including the final of Meilleur Ouvrier de France in 2018.

The importance of team spirit

Romuald Remy has spent almost as much time on handball courts as in pastry kitchens. From his sporting career, he has kept a sense of team spirit, which he has transposed into his business. First with his various employers, then in his own shop, opened in 2007 in Issoire in the Puy-de-Dôme. z

“At six years old, I knew I wanted to become a pastry chef – chocolatier,” says the fifty-something. I passed my C. A. P. and master’s certificate, then I spent 17 years with my apprenticeship master, Bernard Sicard in Riom.” The artisan then went to Fontainebleau in the Paris region, followed by Champagne-Ardenne and finally Seine-et-Marne, where he worked for a time at the chocolaterie Chapon in Chelles. At 36, he opened his first boutique. “My years as an employee were very useful to me, they taught me to master several aspects of the profession, because I worked in different roles.” 

To manage his teams, he also draws lessons from his sporting experience. “I manage my employees a bit like a team captain,” he says. "I make sure that everyone puts in effort in the same direction to reach the same goal, without raising my voice, and with mutual support.” This takes involvement: the business owner uses “we” much more than “I”.This is reflected above all in his way of working, where decisions on creation are a collective effort.

This last phrase particularly resonates for Romuald Remy. “Staying in my corner is not for me! Among colleagues, we share this passion and I like the idea of moving forward together to make the profession shine.” In 2010, he founded theSucre et Chocolat association to introduce the craft to the general public. “For six years, I organized a chocolate fair in Issoire, which brought together 3,000 people over a weekend.” Since then, the association has been on hold. Romuald Remy has found this sense of collective spirit elsewhere, notably by joining the Tradition Gourmande association, in 2017. In addition to sharing, the chocolatier tries to instill in his teams a taste for challenging yourself. This he draws from the handball matches he played, but above all from the many competitions he has participated in. “My first ones go back to the C. A. P. ,” he recalls. Then I competed regularly, notably up to the final of the International Grand Prix of Chocolaterie in 2002, which became the World Chocolate Masters."

Among colleagues, we share this passion, and I like the idea of moving forward together to make the profession shine

This taste for competition led him to the finals of the Meilleur Ouvrier de France Chocolatier in 2018. “I wanted to compare my progress against others to understand my position,” says the chef. I had tried a first time in 2011, but I wasn’t well enough prepared. This time, the competition was close to home, in Clermont-Ferrand, which pushed me to take the plunge. ”The years that passed between these two attempts gave him time to prepare. Yet he remembers being surprised by his qualification for the finals. “I didn’t think I was up to it. After learning that I was selected, I felt more at ease and on track for the finals, this somehow released a certain stress.”

Unfortunately, the chef did not obtain the coveted title. “You always hope to win,” he recalls. Once the disappointment has passed, you take a step back and quickly realize that you couldn’t have done it. This puts things back into perspective compared to others and we become more aware of where we're lacking. Almost seven years later, Romuald Remy has no regrets, only the memory of an intense year and the conviction that if he had to do it again, he would do so without hesitation.

“It allows us to grow very quickly professionally; it was an important step in my career.” This experience allowed him to progress and challenge himself in terms of creativity. In his display cases, original flavors sit alongside classics. “I like working with things that are out of the ordinary,” he explains. "For the M. O. F. finals, for example, I had prepared a black garlic ganache. Daily, we produce around sixty ganaches and pralines, up to 75 during the holiday season."

In his range, customers can notably enjoy a tea collection. Although he admits he doesn’t drink the beverage, he likes pairing these leaves with chocolate. “I look for fairly unique teas to create original items.” Notably, he offers a ganache made with chestnut tea. “One year, I even created a chocolate truffle containing truffle, it was quite an unusual taste, but good!”

Inevitably, his creations sold in the boutique are more understated than those for competitions. “The jury is still the customer, even if we make the best of chocolates, if it doesn’t match the tastes of the clientele, we will never sell it.” Whatever the field, Romuald Remy never loses sight of his goal. 

 The key to success according to Romuald Remy: 
“For me, it's passion for the craft, rigor, and above all sharing. This starts right in the kitchen, where we exchange with the team or colleagues, then it continues later with the products. Customers are going to share the dessert or box of chocolates.  We are dealing in pleasure, people come to us for pleasant experiences."