Full Width Scroll

How are you feeling today?     |      Welcome Back     |     Artist In Residence Program is Open          

air

Justine Pruvot

"I cook vegetables because I think it's the purest thing. You don't hurt anyone. As I get to know the producers, I can source amazing products. So why should I go to the sea? Or hunt animals?"

Born in the Champagne province in France, Justine Pruvot has settled into a life (and career) in Marseille, where she combines cooking and craft through her work as a chef and her tableware project Touillet. While in Athens as guest chef in our Café Society pop-up series, we sat down with Justine to discuss the relation between aesthetics and cooking, the biggest takeaways from coming up in the kitchens of Michelin restaurants, and why plant-based cooking is first and foremost a political choice.

Photography WAYLON BONE
Interview HOUSE OF SHILA

HOS: You are based in Marseilles.  When I visited this city I felt a similar energy with Athens, like something is happening, changing. What is your take?

JP: Marseilles… it’s really messy. In a good way. And it helps for creativity. It opens your mind more than in Paris. There is potential, you constantly meet people. 

HOS: You are in Athens now for your month-long residency at Mona. How do you feel about stepping into a new territory, with a blank slate, and starting a kitchen from scratch? 

It is a challenge, but I was so happy to arrive at Mona, to have a team who is here for me. It really makes a difference; it gives me confidence to be surrounded by nice people. 

HOS: What will you be cooking for us in Athens?

JP: I am bringing my French cuisine, and I look forward to working with Greek products and producers. I want my menu to be fulfilling, but at the same time, comforting and refreshing. 

HOS: Your cuisine is plant-based. What are the challenges of making a menu based only on vegetables?

JP:  I cook vegetables because I think it’s the purest thing. You don’t hurt anyone. And as I get to know the producers, I can source amazing products. So why should I go to the sea? Or hunt animals? Even though I’m not vegetarian myself, I think it’s a political act to cook only vegetables. To show people that you can really have a nice meal without any animal protein. So yes, I love vegetables. I mean, it’s endless. You can do everything with them. It’s harder to cook them well, compared to cooking a slice of meat. I like that challenge and to give importance to them.

“Even though I’m not vegetarian myself,

I think it’s a political act to cook only vegetables.”

HOS: You grew up in the French countryside. How did that form you?

JP: I grew up in the Champagne area. Where I used to live could be described as boring. My dad was a hunter and fisherman, and I remember going out there with him a lot. Having fresh meat and fresh fish caught by my dad was how I grew up – we never bought anything from the supermarket. I think that had an effect on me. My childhood was spent in nature but as soon as I turned 17 I was ready to escape. 

HOS: Quite the oxymoron growing up with a hunter father to become a vegetarian chef!

JP: Maybe I saw too many dying animals as I child! I’m not vegetarian myself. So when my dad brings me an animal he killed, I am happy to eat it, knowing where it came from and the life it had.

HOS: Did you want to be an artist when you were young?

JP: I didn’t want to be an artist, but I was always drawn to art. I used to work in the media industry, and when I decided to switch, I wanted to do something more creative, something with my hands. And it happened to be cooking. It is an art.

HOS: Tell us about your first steps in the culinary world.

I went to cooking school. It was going great, and then I did an internship at a restaurant. It was not Michelin star, but still a high-class restaurant. And the boys there were really nasty with me. It made me think, why did I change my work to be in this kind of environment? So I almost quit the kitchen. Thankfully, I met my friend Manon Fleury. She is a famous chef in France and showed me that the environment could be something positive. Overall, I was excited to learn a new job, with new perspectives. And at the same time, I was afraid of this environment that really isn’t favourable to women. Sometimes I feel that we are behind, there’s discrimination. It is starting to change though. I am a supporter of an association called Bondir.e, that is committed to the fight against gender-based violence in the restaurant industry. Through workshops and interventions in hospitality schools, it aims to raise awareness among future professionals and foster a culture of respect, equality, and well-being in kitchens and dining rooms.

HOS: What’s your definition of aesthetics and cooking? You talk about, poetry in the way you approach your dishes.

JP:Aesthetics are important when you’re eating, equal to a good taste, of course. My dishes must be meaningful as well as pretty. I take the time to find good producers and get to know them. When I make food, I treat it like a canvas. 

HOS: How would you describe your creative process? 

JP: I would say it starts from the product itself. And as I cook seasonally, the products evolve. I tend to have a palette of taste in my mind. My mind feels like a depository of references. When I see a tomato, for example, then I am thinking about a painting that I saw. And I try to recreate the feeling that I had when I looked at it. I don’t know how to explain it better, because it’s happening in my head, and I’m not like a traditional chef, where I would study and have my books and look at everything. It’s really more like I am living my life and I have a palette that I draw upon, as though I have drawers in my brain that contain different things that get stimulated by productse. Like, this taste reminds me of when I was travelling to a certain place, or when I saw this painting. I try to do that with my food.

HOS: When do you know a recipe is complete, that a dish is final?

JP: Good question. I don’t know when a dish is really final. I think it’s when I’m starting to get bored of it. 

HOS: You have worked in Michelin restaurants. What have you learned from these institutions? 

JP: Gaining experience at in a Michelin restaurant is something that you want to do when you’re young. It helps you to be detached from the technical aspect of the kitchen. You have to be at the top of your game every single day, your body is like a machine, you know, like – you don’t even think. It helped me to have more vigour, and also to establish a way of cooking that is the same every day, to have consistency. It’s really important. When I returned to a more regular cuisine, I gained more freedom and creativity in being my own chef.

“I am a supporter of an association called Bondir.e, that is committed to the fight against gender-based violence in the restaurant industry. Through workshops and interventions in hospitality schools, it aims to raise awareness among future professionals and foster a culture of respect, equality, and well-being in kitchens and dining rooms.”

HOS: Any life lessons working in kitchens altogether? 

JP: Yes. Patience! Something that I don’t have in my personal life. But I can be patient in the kitchen. Things take time, when you do fermentations, you have to wait, time is precious.

HOS:  It’s meditative. 

JP: Exactly.

HOS: As they say, first learn the rules and then you can break them.

JP: Exactly. 

HOS:  What is your take on the nomadic nature of chefs nowadays?

JP: I think it’s an amazing thing. But it’s hard to for both sides because every time you are somewhere new, you have to adapt to that environments. To create something that didn’t exist. It is really challenging. However, at the same time, it opens up opportunities and you meet a lot of people. I think it’s really wonderful to be able to show your cuisine everywhere. That’s also why I wanted to be a cook. I wanted to cook from anywhere in the world, because I think to be traveling and working at the same time and learning about another culture – that’s the best. 

HOS: You like this idea of not being stationed in one place.

JS: I love to adapt. I am someone that doesn’t like routine. I love when it changes. Maybe someday I will have a place, but it would not be a restaurant. It would be something where people can sleep and eat, perhaps.

“My mind feels like a depository of references. When I see a tomato, for example, then I am thinking about a painting that I saw. And I try to recreate the feeling that I had when I looked at it.”

HOS: What do you think about chefs and egos?

JP: Oh my God, how do you control this? I think it can go too far. I know it’s important to communicate and, to make people want to come to eat your food. The competitiveness in the food business is real. But I don’t even understand why. Why chefs must become so big. Sometimes I want to say, come on guys, we just make food. And if it’s good, that’s great. And that’s it. We don’t need star chefs. And we should not celebrate only one person. It is teamwork.

In my opinion, the most important things are to feed people well, using good products, and to respect every single person in the chain of the process—from the producer to the person receiving the dish.

HOS: How much has social media impacted chef stardom? 

JP: It’s a trend. You have so many chefs making videos on TikTok and Instagram hitting millions of views. Many of these people only cook at home. They would never be able to cook at a restaurant. It’s a different thing. On the other hand, if cooking can inspire people to cook for themselves, it’s perfect. 

HOS: What is your favourite flavour?  

JP: It has to be bitter. It is really weird because people don’t usually like bitter. I find it very interesting in dishes.

HOS: I am often curious about where chefs go to eat on their day off. What is your go-to place when you’ve had a very long day cooking for others?

JP:  I go to my friend’s place À Moro in Marseilles. Simple Italian cuisine. And if I’m really too lazy, I would go for fast food!

HOS: What would be your death row meal, then? 

JP: I would say rice with eggs and some kimchi. Simple. 

HOS: Who would be your dream guest to cook for?

JP: The singer, Rosalía. I love her!

“The most important things are to feed people well, using good produce, and to respect every single person in the chain of the process—from the producer to the person receiving the dish.

HOS: Tell us about Touillet, your tableware collection.

JP: It is a project that I started in 2023. I had this need to create work with artists – it started with plates designed for my kitchen. To present a few dishes.  The process is organic, we talk about what I want to cook, what dish to present it on, and then we design it together. Some of my recipes are inspired by the objects, so it also works the other way around! The nameTouillet’ is my grandmother’s maiden name. She is my favourite person in the world, my muse. She is 93 years old. Every time I go to see her I feel do lucky to have her in my life. 

HOS: You are also working with textiles. 

JP: I badly wanted to work with artisans. They are truly talented people. With my aprons, I collaborated with Adelie De Soumagnat from studio Double Double. She’s one of the first people I met when I moved to Marseille. We worked together to create an apron that resembles a dress. My next collection is going to be with a lamp designer, Marie Jeunet.

HOS: What is your definition of happiness? 

JP: Being surrounded by friends you love. And eating my favourite meal. That’s happiness for me. 

HOS: Is there a destination where you most looking forward to visit for food? 

JP: I would love to go to Peru. I heard that the food is amazing there. 

MORE FEATURES