PROFILES

“Several of our employees have been with us for 30 years, they’re the mainstays of our restaurants.”

Whether upholding family tradition or by vocation, the Vanninis have been restaurateurs for several generations, as children accustomed to spending after-hours with their parents then later on helping them out and quickly developing their own interest in the profession. “It’s in our blood,” sums up Baptiste Vannini. His vision of the restaurant trade? The one he inherited from his father, Jean-Claude, whose training consisted of observing his mother serving customers in Virginie, the brasserie in Nice’s Riquier district where the story began back in 1948. “This place has been in our family for 70 years. Originally it was a bar-tabac called the Terminus; my grandparents met here – my grandfather was one of its regulars.” He fell in love with the girl who served him and the rest is history! For Baptiste, following in his forebears’ footsteps was the obvious thing to do; for his father it was all about seizing opportunities and experimenting. Jean-Claude opened various restaurants, the best known being Plage Paloma; as the years passed he enjoyed big successes, and some failures. Baptiste attended catering college then worked in London, New York and Switzerland before returning home and going into partnership with his father to form a solid two-man team. “I realised that subconsciously I had chosen my path so as to be closer to my father.” Over time the partnership expanded to include Baptiste’s wife, Mariana, then the youngest of the Vannini siblings, Agathe. The family’s trademark is of course Italian cuisine, as per their roots, but also a deeply held sense of social responsibility. “Several of our employees have been with us for 30 years, they’re the mainstays of our restaurants. And seeing a simple dishwasher rise up the ranks to become dining-room manager is one of the reasons I love our profession. It’s what Dad has always been so good at and what I’m intent on carrying on.” The future? “Grow the group with fine restaurants such as the newly opened Espuma looking onto Villefranche roads.”

Par Caroline Stefani – Photo Serge-Henri