An associate director at Septime, Clamato and Septime La Cave, Théo Pourriat plays a major role in the success of our restaurants, because pacing the team and organizing the space is taken as seriously as the taste of food. Everyday, Théo instills a mix of discipline and informality to help welcome foodies. He also manages the wine selection, hand-selecting after meeting with innovative winemakers.
After studying economics at the University Dauphine in Paris, his love of restaurants quickly subsumed his professional endeavors. Théo got his feet wet by managing places like Sasso, where his roommate from the early 2000s – and best friend from high school! – Grébaut would drop in regularly for a bite. In 2010, Théo reunited with his friend to conceptualize
Septime. He now bounces back and forth between a fulfilling family life and the necessary demands of his job. There is a secret ingredient to the success of his alliance with Grébaut, he says: ‘We speak the same language, but we don’t step into the other’s territory’.
Bertrand Grébaut had a revelation alongside world famous chef Alain Passard, with whom he started as an intern after leaving a promising graphic design career (he was as a member of the «Kourtrajmé » collective).
At l’Arpège, he came to understand that cooking could be both sensitive and committed, and afar from prevailing trends. That belief has never left him. Bertrand was on a roll as soon as he left the Ferrandi School of cooking (at the head of his class). After working as an executive chef at Michelin star restaurant L’Agapé in Paris and travelling the world for several months, he opened Septime, his first solo venture. His cooking is both rooted and well-travelled, constantly redefined by new encounters. Bertrand embodies the Septime spirit, where the chef is not an authority figure, but rather a creator of surprising tastes. His obsession is to craft the dishes that define the moment without fixating on what’s “cool”; he looks for simplicity and emotion. The world recognition he has attained for many years now has not changed this approach.