Very focused. In two words, released without taking her eyes off her creation, Fondettoise Maïwenn Le Roux perfectly defines the state of mind of the eight candidates competing for the 53e edition of the French Florists’ Cup which will be played in Tours, in the hall of the Vinci convention center, this Saturday 28, Sunday 29 and Monday 30 September. For three days, “the elite” of the profession – in the words of the president of the French Federation of Artisan Florists Farell Legendre – will be measured on six tests mixing free expression and imposed figures. Among them, two Tourangelles.
An aesthetic and technical challenge
Between roses, bamboo and potatoes, eight “Plant and design tables” took shape on Saturday afternoon, between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Four hours to flower a structure imagined and created well in advance: tables for four guests, made up of 70% plants. “These are majestic pieces that we want to show to the general public to show what the work of artisan florists can be”notes Isabelle Brethomé, president of the jury and Meilleur Ouvrière de France since 2019.
If we are far, with these monumental opening works, from the daily life of an artisan florist, the creativity, aesthetics and techniques are there, as they will be in the other tests around compositions of bouquets, belts, tapestries or even reception rooms… “It highlights the excellence of gesture and know-how”underlines Farell Legendre. Combinations of colors, texture, volume, hydration technique, respect for plants are all criteria on which the candidates will be judged.
Saturday September 28, eight professionals took part in the first round of the French Florists’ Cup in Tours. For four hours, with meticulous gestures, they flourished their creation on the theme of the table.
© Photo NR, Julien Pruvost
The sure gesture, Gwendoline Bergeault, who Chambraisians can come across at the La Fontaine aux Fleurs store, shapes her vegetable table. “I was stressed until the start of the competition, now it’s okay, I’m in it, quite happy to be able to bring flourish to the piece I’ve been working on for several months”says the young professional. Like all the selected candidates, she has already faced the requirements of the competitions. “My thing is to always have a bottle of water on hand and to force myself to take breaks, to take my eyes off what we are doing”she confides.
For this event on the theme “plant tables and design”, the competitors had to create a composition that was 70% plant-based.
© Photo NR, Julien Pruvost
Through these grandiose creations, it is also the identity of these artisans that is expressed. “Today, artisan florists have an increasingly marked identityunderlines Isabelle Brethomé. More than flowers, we sell an emotion. » A universe, too, where seasonality, sustainability and localism take an increasingly greater place. Without ever giving in to aesthetics.
Coup de France des florists, Tours convention center, Sunday and Monday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; awards ceremony Monday at 3 p.m.
