Beneath the serious demeanour lies a man who loves to party, an entrepreneur whose day begins at 7.30am and ends around 11pm. “I’m a master chef,” he says, “in the sense of a ‘master craftsman’.” If Jean-David Cohen is little known, Dalloyau, the restaurant he runs in Marseille’s Les Terrasses du Port shopping centre, needs no introduction. “But there’s also my catering service Jean-David Traiteur, and my reception venue Les Salons de La Bauquière in Allauch,” he adds. Jean-David’s parents ran a restaurant on Île de Frioul, the island just off Marseille, and he plunged into the catering world at the age of 16. “I love to create joy and surprise; that’s the caterer’s job!” He currently employs 60 staff whose loyalty he ensures by “treating them as partners.” His wife Anna, always at his side, “brings balance and security. She’s a consummate professional, an accountant by trade. We have very complementary skillsets.” The couple works long hours, but “every three months we go away for a week, just hop on a plane and take a complete break.” And at home? “There’s no television so we spend a lot of time talking. I’m very proud of my two sons, aged 19 and 21. They haven’t been seduced by superficiality; they live in the real world. Depth of feeling is important to them.” With both sons studying at prestigious universities in Paris, Jean-David’s two “prides and joy” are yet another feather in his cap.
Dalloyau,
Les Terrasses du Port
9 quai du Lazaret, Marseille 2e
Tél. 04 91 45 75 11
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