I started out in 1994, 4 years after Alain opened the first Le Pain Quotidien in Brussels, Rue Dansaert. While never formally trained in hospitality, I’ve always had a true passion for food.

My grandparents ran a pub, an uncle owned a catering business and above all my mother was a dedicated and passionate cook. In the late 80’s and early 90’s the Belgium, food scene was losing a lot of authenticity. Small butchers, fishmongers, and bakers disappeared. Others started working with premixes delivered to them by industrial players. Supermarkets launched a highly standardized – almost anonymous – offering.

At that time, I heard about Alain Coumont – a young chef turned baker in Brussels who did everything “contrarian” to the upcoming industrial trend. I found the revolutionary thinking very appealing and inspiring and offered my services as a franchise store manager.

The core values the brand is based on are more relevant today than ever for a very wide audience and for a wide number of reasons: simplicity, quality, organic food, ecological, local choices, with attention to animal welfare… There is no social stratification here: in my bakery young mothers and their children, retired people, entrepreneurs, students, artists, craftsmen, and business man sit shoulder to shoulder. The trust consumers put in the brand on a daily basis is the most valuable asset I receive as a franchisee.

The unique brand DNA is something I consider every franchisee to be the guardian of and something we should cherish; it offers tremendous potential for sustained growth.

As for the services of the franchisor, ranging from marketing support to menu development and training I would like to highlight two: logistics and technology. Especially the logistics services offered are world-class.

Our brand choice for fresh natural ingredients requires frequent daily distributions of a wide range of fresh ingredients, combined with the opportunity to adjust quantities on last-minute timing offers franchisees a powerful flexibility tool that I feel is unique in its kind.

Also technology solutions: during the COVID19 pandemic, we quickly rolled out a presence over different e-commerce and delivery channels. Initially, was a lukewarm supporter – I saw it as a good way to not disappoint our most loyal customers and a way to avoid having to let go of people or put all staff on unemployment.

But the fact that our healthy fresh food offer stood out amongst fast-food competitors who dominate the e-commerce restaurant segment allowed us to also introduce Le Pain Quotidien to new customers.