“To say that I am a fine cordon bleu would be an exaggeration! I am lucky to be especially well surrounded, especially by my wife who is a real cook. Personally, I don’t necessarily know how to cook well even if I learn quickly. But on board, my favorite dish is the work of my mother who, each time she leaves, cooks me a lentil sausage for which she has the secret.
This remains an exception. In the race, we fight a lot to make the boat as light as possible, so we mainly bring dehydrated food. Of course, we have some dishes to enjoy that we cook in a bain-marie, but we are far from the myth which consists of saying that the navigator can fish for fresh food. At the speed we’re going, it’s impossible, the fish won’t follow!
Pay attention to caloric and energy intake
The desire to cook a good meal is omnipresent during racing, obviously, but we save this idea for festive days, like Christmas or New Year’s Eve. This was the case during my last Vendée Globe. These are days when you want to eat better than usual, even at sea. It’s important to take the time to eat. This is what will give rhythm to the days, especially when we go on long races. You need to have the caloric and energy intake you need. I have always been careful to eat my three meals a day, as well as snacks. This can go up to five to six times in 24 hours when we take the time to eat. Obviously the rhythm at sea is very different, so the feeding rhythm is just as different.
The organization of food stocks is quasi-military. During the last Vendée Globe, with my team, we made a map of the world tour and estimated, every day, where the boat would be. Based on this, we were able to estimate food stocks. Depending on the climatic zones where I was, the meals were different, especially in terms of calories. In cold areas I was at over 4,000 calories per day and 3,000 in hot areas. This program could imply that there is no more room for surprise and the desire of the moment, but it was my team who was responsible for establishing this program, so for each dated dish I had to open, it was finally the surprise of the day.
Fight against waste
When I return to land, I obviously like to taste good food and, at that level, I’m not complicated, I like everything. At sea, when you dehydrate dishes, you inevitably lose a little caloric value and taste, that’s undeniable. On the other hand, what ocean racing taught me was that the fight against food waste was a battle to be fought. During Covid, I worked with my partner Maître Coq and Restos du coeur. I was able to distribute food that was past its marketing deadline but was otherwise very good. With certain draconian rules, we make a lot of waste.
I was able to realize the national challenge and perceive that on the one hand many were lacking due to lack of money and resources while on the other hand, each French person wasted on average several kilos of food per year. Obviously, my job taught me not to waste. We make a lot of waste on land, never at sea. We have to count carefully and organize ourselves. In 2020-2021, I left with 90 days of food and it took me 80 days. »
