“Bao Family is my world, it’s the place I created for myself, it’s everything I love: cuisine with complex flavors but a taste that makes you want to come back for more, traditional but modern dishes,
places with designs between Paris and Shanghai.
The Bao Family is made up of Petit Bao, the canteen on rue Saint-Denis that popularized Bao! And Gros Bao (opened last July), whose challenge is to highlight and make accessible flagship dishes from the 8 culinary styles of China such as Peking duck, Cantonese char Siu Bao or even Taiwanese lu rou fan.
The decoration of Gros Bao is designed by the architects Mur.Mur.
CELINE
Céline, you are the founder of Petit Bao and Gros Bao, tell us about yourself?
I am 31 years old, I am Franco-Chinese and I followed a classic school path, being the real cliché of the good Asian student! So I joined a preparatory class and went to business school. I started my career in fashion, at Chanel, which was great because I have always been fascinated by fashion, by the know-how and the French luxury craftsmanship. After a year I left for a consulting company, I worked for CAC 40 companies. It was intellectually interesting because I was confronted with very different companies from each other and this diversity satisfied my thirst for learning. As my parents had a leather goods store in the center of Paris, I observed them as a kid, while playing with boxes, and very quickly setting up my own project became obvious! I turned to cooking, which was a total reconversion, because I knew nothing about it! I started as a waitress at PNY, then the founder Rudy asked me to join them as their right-hand man. I had in mind to open a cool Chinese restaurant in Paris, I wanted to restore the reputation of this very rich and varied cuisine, and break the clichés. When I was a child, my mother only cooked Chinese food and I was so happy to go to the canteen and eat fries! To really get to know and learn Chinese cuisine, I went to China or toured the regions, then I learned to cook with Chinese chefs in Shanghai. In fact, it was there that I developed the menu for my future restaurant! When I decided to open my restaurant Petit Bao, my parents were quite disappointed, they didn't understand my choice even though I had a master's degree! They imagined a different life for me! Opening a restaurant wasn't a noble enough job in their eyes. I didn't even tell them right away that I was opening Petit Bao!
What is your relationship with fashion?
I love fashion. The way we dress embodies our personality. Through clothing, we communicate who we are. It is an expression of ourselves that we show to the world. A garment can help you gain power and energy. I create a character and a universe with clothes. I like to mix materials and be comfortable; I like to be able to move. My personal style, even if it is causal, is made of mixes between East and West. Moreover, the Valentine Gauthier Lanis Picea Print dress that I am wearing reminds me of traditional Chinese dresses with its prints.
Are there any common points between fashion and cooking?
Yes of course! The know-how, the requirement and the importance of choosing the right products and treating them well! In a successful garment, every detail has been thought out just as every step is thought out to make a tasty and beautiful dish to look at. The way you cut a vegetable or a piece of meat, just like the way you cut a garment, contributes to its beauty.
What do you like about Valentine Gauthier’s collections?
The mix of print and material. His fashion makes me travel.
It's a sensual fashion whose fluidity and colors help me escape from a harsh reality. It transports me to another space-time!
Do you also believe that nothing will ever be the same again?
It made me change things! For example, I give myself more time to create, to think or to do nothing. Friday is a day dedicated to inspiration, I allow myself to walk, to read, to write. I finally give myself moments to refocus, before I was in a hectic pace. Slowing down has been beneficial for me and I have the impression that many people have thought about what is really important to them and the relationships they want to have with others.
Do you systematically look at the “made in” of a garment or accessory?
Yes, I like to know where and how the clothes I wear are made. I am ready to pay more because I am aware of the social and human cost of cheapness . Dressing and eating can also be political acts!
Being vigilant about the origin of products, respecting seasons and distances, knowing who makes the clothes are also a way of aligning one's philosophy of life with one's actions.
