Named best pastry chef in the world (2024) and praised by her peers, Nina Métayer is opening two establishments this weekend in La Rochelle, her hometown. Special for one of them: the thirty-year-old learned her first trade there, that of a baker, and obtained a CAP there. It was in 2005 and 2006, at Paillat, an address then managed by Denis Baron, his “mentor” and the first to have given him “ [sa] chance ».
The rest is known: after passing through the Ferrandi school to obtain a CAP dedicated to pastry making, Nina Métayer started at Meurice, working for Amandine Chaignot and Jean-François Piège before founding her own company, La Délicatisserie, in 2020. United within the same group, its various activities now employ nearly 80 employees, including the “hard core” family of Nina Métayer: “My sisters, my father, my mother, my husband”, lists the wife of business without forgetting to mention his “friends” working alongside him.
Nina Métayer has never forgotten her roots in La Rochelle and has been thinking about setting up there for around ten years. The retirement of Denis Baron and the sale of his establishments offered her the opportunity she was looking for. “It’s a lot of emotion and also a form of recognition for everything Denis has been able to bring me. When the heart speaks, everything works better,” assures Nina Métayer. “I’m glad it’s Nina! She is so determined and passionate,” says Denis Baron.
Contacted by “Le Parisien”, the ex-baker never forgot his young apprentice: “She came with her CV and started straight away. I immediately felt his motivation. After eight days, she had already taken over the oven! We worked with shovels, the old-fashioned way. The oven was in the store, in contact with customers. She felt at ease straight away, nothing scared her.”
The pastry chef could have drawn a line under this past and focused on her name. In La Rochelle, it will be different: the thirty-year-old has decided to keep the historic names of her two brands – Le Fournil and Chez Paillat – accompanied by a simple “by Nina”. No question, she insists, of creating a channel: “That doesn’t interest me! »
“Every place will have its recipes”
The specialties served here will not necessarily be the same as in Paris. “Each place will have its recipes,” promises Nina Métayer who will juggle her different addresses by banking on the talent of her employees to keep her stores running in her absence. “I need to be where the problems are, I’m a firefighter actually,” she smiles.
The prices will not be those of the capital either, promises Nina Métayer: “My name will never be used to increase prices. It simply allows me to produce better products and have more trained and competent workers.” Still count on 27 euros for a flan and 44 euros for a lemon tart for six people. The croissant is priced at €1.30.
For the record, Nina Métayer did not particularly appreciate “desserts or sweets” before trying her hand at baking and then pastry making. “I found it complicated! Everything it represents was the opposite of myself, I'm not meticulous and I admired those who were. It channeled me in the end,” laughs the thirty-year-old.
It just goes to show that encounters can change the course of a life. Denis Baron, for his part, affirms it without blinking: “I have no doubt about his success! Many pastry chefs have settled in La Rochelle. Nina will inspire everyone with her desire for excellence and La Rochelle will soon be a city where we will find very high quality pastries.”
