BON APPETIT: When Dior reopens its historic headquarters at 30 Avenue Montaigne after two years of renovations, the six-story building will have a new attraction: a restaurant designed by architect Peter Marino and run by French chef Jean Imbert.
Dior declined to give a date for the reopening of the building, which has been shuttered since July 2019, but said the headquarters would be “reinvented.” The name and exact location of the restaurant also remain under wraps.
“Jean Imbert, the chef of this new address celebrating the art of living dear to Monsieur Dior, was inspired by the archives of the house — in which he has been immersed for two years — to imagine exceptional creations reflecting the history of Dior, from its founding to today. Gastronomy reflecting the values of the maison, at the crossroads of heritage and the future,” the house told WWD exclusively.
The move comes as LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the parent company of brands including Dior, LouIs Vuitton and Fendi, thrusts further into hospitality as high-end consumers splash out on fine dining, holidays and other luxury experiences.
Marino is also designing the first Paris branch of Langosteria, a high-end seafood restaurant that will be located inside of La Samaritaine, the landmark department store slated to reopen on June 23 and also owned by LVMH.
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The winner of the French edition of “Top Chef” in 2012, Imbert runs several restaurants, including Mamie par Jean Imbert in Paris, which specializes in recipes gleaned from his grandmother. He has two ventures with musician Pharrell Williams: Swan in Miami, and To Share in Saint-Tropez, located in the LVMH-run White 1921 hotel.
This will be the sixth restaurant venture for Dior, which has a summer terrace in Saint-Tropez called Dior des Lices, run by chef Arnaud Donckele, in addition to Café Dior venues in Tokyo, Seoul, Miami and Honolulu.
The house has a historic relationship with gastronomy. Founder Christian Dior was a consummate gourmet, and Dior even released a cookbook, “La Cuisine Cousu-Main,” in 1972, 15 years after his death.
Boasting illustrations for each category of recipes by René Gruau, the metal-covered tome was filled with the kinds of classic French dishes Dior liked to order at his favorite Parisian restaurants including La Coupole, Brasserie Lipp, La Tour d’Argent, Le Stresa, the Ritz Paris and Maxim’s.
“He loved traditional French dishes like sauerkraut, steak with coarse sea salt, leg of lamb or ham shank,” said Soizic Pfaff, director of the Dior Heritage archive division. “One of the reasons he chose to have [Dior headquartered] on Avenue Montaigne was that it was also home to the Plaza Athénée, where he liked to go to eat.”
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