Private chef for MIPIM in Cannes: a 4x4 culinary safari in the hinterland for a real estate delegation
Contents
Introduction
MIPIM week turns Cannes into a non-stop marketplace, from the Palais des Festivals to the terraces of the Croisette. Amid this pace, a 4x4 culinary safari in the hinterland gives a real estate delegation the one day when nobody is pitching a project any more.
Yet this format is not an outing you improvise the night before. It requires convoy, cold-chain and scheduling engineering as tight as that of a gala dinner.
Lory Herschkorn and Fabien Mimoun run these days from Marseille, their production base, not from an events office. The duo mans the stoves at the edge of the track, with the same precision they bring to villas and yachts.
The following pages take the day from the end where it is really decided: the brief first, then the road map, the timing, the cold chain, the market, the group and finally the evening. The focus is on the property investment companies, developers and regional delegations expected in Cannes in March.
The 4x4 culinary safari, a day away from MIPIM
The trade fair is experienced in thirty-minute meetings, on stands and at cocktail receptions. The teams of a property investment company move from slot to slot from morning to night and end the week without ever leaving the Croisette.
What the format brings to a real estate delegation
A convoy of 4x4s takes the group out of town in about forty minutes and sets it down on a viewpoint where the conversation changes in nature. Hierarchical relationships relax as soon as you leave the meeting room.
A table laid out in the open also creates a memory that a stand never does. An investor remembers the lunch served overlooking the Siagne gorges long after forgetting the project presentation.
International delegations gain even more. A guest who speaks little of the working language finds common ground over a plate, something no stand meeting can offer.
Why the March week lends itself to it
The international real estate professionals' market (MIPIM) is held every March at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes and, according to its organiser, brings together twenty thousand participants from ninety countries. This density saturates the city and its restaurants from Monday to Friday.
March also offers the weather window that makes the format feasible. The days grow longer, the Tanneron mimosa finishes flowering and the hinterland tracks are dry without being scorched by heat.
The three profiles who request it
A property investment company sees it as a team-building day set in the middle of a high-pressure week, a developer as a one-to-one widened to three or four investors, a regional delegation as a showcase for its geography. The same convoy therefore serves three distinct expectations.
One wants collective time, another negotiating time, the third a story of place to tell. The same trade-off arises in exactly the same way for the chef in residence for a delegation staying on the Croisette, where the accommodation turns into a production kitchen.
Framing the request before plotting any route
A poorly framed safari becomes a road transfer with a packed lunch at the end. The difference lies in seven pieces of information obtained before any proposal.
The seven pieces of information to obtain at the brief
We ask for the number of participants, the time slot that is genuinely free, the starting point, the working language, dietary requirements, the expected level of confidentiality and the purpose of the day. Each of these answers shifts the route, the menu or the number of vehicles.
Headcount determines the fleet first, and the fleet determines both drivers and cooks. Beyond twelve guests, the convoy and the mise en place are both doubled.
The time slot matters as much as the total duration. A delegation free from ten in the morning to four in the afternoon requires a short route and a single stop, whereas a full day allows two.
Telling a culinary safari apart from a sightseeing tour
Some requests labelled as a safari actually describe a village visit followed by a restaurant meal. The question to ask at the brief is simple: does the chef cook on site, in front of the group, or is the group merely driven to a table that is already set?
The same dividing line ran through our latest article on team cooking workshops: there, people learned by doing, never by watching. Here again, the chef's genuine presence at the stoves makes the difference, and it is settled at the brief.
The written brief, even in ten lines
A ten-line email approved by the delegation locks in the route, the stops and the list of dietary requirements. It avoids renegotiating the itinerary the night before, when nothing can be changed any more.
Choosing the route and stops in the hinterland
Choosing a direction already draws half the map. The route sets the driving time, the altitude of the stop and the exposure to wind, and these three factors govern everything else.
The Pays de Grasse and the Siagne balconies
The climb towards Grasse, Cabris and Saint-Cézaire-sur-Siagne takes less than an hour from the Croisette. The viewpoints over the Siagne gorges offer flat ground, vehicle access and an open horizon, a rare trio in this terrain.
The Caussols plateau and the heights of Le Bar-sur-Loup extend this route further inland. The altitude there calls for warm clothing even in March, a point the brief must flag to participants.
The Esterel and Lake Saint-Cassien
The Esterel massif and the shores of Lake Saint-Cassien open up the other direction, more rugged and with a shorter drive. The red rock and the water create a setting that delegations photograph instantly.
This direction, however, requires vigilance regarding visitor numbers and periods of restricted access. We always keep a fallback viewpoint twenty minutes from the planned spot.
Driving authorisation, a non-negotiable prerequisite
Some hinterland tracks fall under forest fire prevention rules, private estates or prefectoral orders. We drive on open, authorised routes, never on a track forced for the sake of a beautiful view.
This check is carried out in advance with the landowners and the relevant authorities. A stop ruled out for lack of authorisation has never shortened a day, whereas a refusal on site would have ruined it.
Building a schedule that fits between two meetings
A day looks long on paper and turns out to be tight once driving, setting up and service are added together. The schedule is built backwards, from the required return time.
The four-stage breakdown
We break the day down into departure and driving, the welcome stop, lunch service and then the return. Each stage has a single objective and a capped duration.
The drive takes place in a tight convoy, with a lead vehicle and a technical vehicle carrying the equipment. The group travels without its cooking equipment, which leaves ahead to allow time for setting up.
The welcome stop is held standing, around the display table. Guests touch, smell and taste the raw produce before the first cooking begins.
Time slots compatible with a trade fair schedule
A nine o'clock departure and a four o'clock return leave the evening free for meetings and cocktail receptions. This slot is negotiated at the brief, never the day before.
Very time-constrained delegations opt for the half-day, with a single stop and a lunch served in two rounds, the group taking turns at the worktop in halves. This format loses the discovery drive but keeps the cooking in front of the group.
The three families of dishes to rule out from the start
A series of à la minute cooking, an emulsion held to the second and a whole joint to carve do not survive the open air. It is better to remove one dish from the menu than to disrupt the pace of service.
Cooking in the great outdoors: equipment, fire and the cold chain
Outdoor cooking is not simplified cooking, it is relocated cooking. It demands more preparation than cooking in a villa, for an identical result on the plate.
The mobile kitchen and its real limits
We bring a plancha, two gas burners, a refrigerated unit, a set of sharpened knives and our own serving containers. This equipment fits into a single technical vehicle and is set up in twenty minutes.
The real limit is available power, not space. Two burners and a plancha allow for an amuse-bouche, a main course and a hot side dish, no more.
The cold chain, the overriding constraint
Cold governs the rest of the set-up. Sensitive produce travels under chilled conditions, in probe-monitored units, from departure in Marseille all the way to the stop.
We record temperatures at departure, on arrival and before service. This record is not an administrative formality: it decides whether a dish is kept or withdrawn.
Fire, regulations and the fallback plan
The use of fire in natural areas is regulated and sometimes prohibited depending on the season and the massif. We work with gas and in an enclosed unit, in compliance with the orders in force for the chosen massif.
A weather fallback plan systematically accompanies the set-up. A sheepfold, a Provençal farmhouse or an estate terrace takes over the service if wind or rain sets in.
Mid-March locavore sourcing and mise en place
Everything the guests do not see carries the whole day. The chef opens the stop well before the convoy arrives and closes it long after it leaves.
What the land offers in mid-March
Mid-March brings the first green asparagus from the Var, poivrade artichokes, garden peas, broad beans and field-grown mesclun. Menton citrus fruits still provide the acidity of spring dishes.
Black truffle is ending its season and Sisteron lamb is appearing on menus ahead of Easter. This calendar calls for a clear-cut spring menu, far from winter plates.
We wrote about it in our brunch featuring Mediterranean produce, where the market dictated the menu rather than the other way round. The same principle governs a service in the great outdoors, where nothing can be fixed on site.
Mise en place in three waves
The wave the day before handles stocks, long cooking and everything that can wait. The morning wave loads the technical vehicle in reverse service order, and the last one sets up the stop.
This sequence works even at a stop without running water. It simply requires planning the volume of drinking water and waste disposal before departure.
Named place settings and outdoor plating
Each guest finds their own place set, their glass and their bread. This detail removes the awkwardness of the first few minutes and sets up the service as crisply as in a dining room.
Plated service holds up despite the wind, provided you choose heavy plates and thickened sauces. We rule out loose herbs and light powders, which do not hold up outdoors.
Hosting an international delegation: languages, diets, safety
A delegation attending MIPIM commonly brings together five nationalities in the same convoy. Hosting is prepared as carefully as the menu itself.
The working language of the convoy
We host in French and English, announcing each dish in both languages before service. The lead driver uses the same bilingual approach for safety instructions.
The useful vocabulary comes down to around twenty terms. Naming four cooking methods and three seasonal products is enough to make the service clear to everyone.
Diets, allergens and eating habits
This information is gathered during the framing stage and never on arrival. A guest who discovers at the stop that no dish has been designed with them in mind carries that memory for the rest of the day.
Two complete menus are prepared as standard, one free from animal products, the other gluten-free. They move at the same pace as the main menu and are never singled out by a substitute plate.
Safety, a non-negotiable responsibility
The terrain, the tracks and the handling of gas call for rules set out at departure and upheld until the return. We carry a first-aid kit and a means of communication independent of the mobile network.
The departure briefing lasts one minute. That minute has never shortened a day and it has already prevented falls on loose ground.
Discretion and confidentiality of discussions
The conversations held during a MIPIM safari are worth as much as those at a closing dinner. The pop-up kitchen brigade works at a distance from the table and only enters the circle to serve.
Extending the safari with a debrief dinner on the Croisette
A day that ends with a silent drive back leaves an unfinished impression. The evening dinner turns the outing into a complete working sequence.
From the convoy's return to evening service
The group returns around four o'clock and finds a table laid three hours later, in a villa or a privately hired apartment. The chef takes charge again in a fixed kitchen, with the comfort the outdoor stop could not provide.
The switch from outdoors to indoors happens early in the morning, not on the return. Evening tableware, glassware and table linen are already stored in the residence's kitchen when the convoy sets off.
Food and wine pairings and alcohol-free options
The pairing is decided on the plates that are actually served, not on a menu written three weeks earlier. A white Bellet, a gastronomic Côtes-de-Provence rosé and a red Bandol are enough to match the March dishes.
The alcohol-free pairing is composed to the same standard. Cold infusions, freshly pressed fruit juices and flavoured waters match the food without compromising on pleasure.
Continuing through the rest of MIPIM week
A successful day almost always leads to a business dinner in the days that follow. We handled a similar case with a delegation of Gulf investors, whose table protocol dictated the menu.
The page private chef for MIPIM in Cannes brings all these configurations together, each with its own constraints. It sets out what each format requires in terms of venue and timing, before you even pick up the phone.
Summary table of culinary safari formats
Four configurations come up from one edition to the next, and the table sets them side by side. It serves as a decision grid rather than a fixed offer.
Day format | Direction | Group size | Cooking time |
Full-day safari | Pays de Grasse and Siagne gorges | Eight to twelve guests | Lunch cooked on site |
Half-day | Esterel and Lake Saint-Cassien | Four to eight guests | Lunch served in two rounds |
Safari and debrief dinner | Hinterland, then a villa on the Croisette | Eight to sixteen guests | Lunch outdoors and dinner in a fixed kitchen |
Single stop at a viewpoint | Caussols plateau | Four to six guests | Amuse-bouche and single main course |
There is no ranking among these four rows. The genuinely free time slot and the chosen direction decide the format before any discussion of the menu.
Illustrative case study
The following case has been reconstructed for illustrative purposes from configurations commonly seen during the trade fair week. It does not report the words of any identifiable person and constitutes neither a promise nor a guarantee of results.
“Our delegation had seen the Palais des Festivals and nothing else for three editions, and this day changed the nature of our conversations.”
“The chef cooked in front of us on a viewpoint, with the same level of service as in a dining room.”
“The evening dinner extended the day instead of closing it, and two deals moved forward there.”
Reconstructed statements, anonymised case. No real client data was used to compose this account.
Frequently asked questions
How many guests can a culinary safari accommodate during MIPIM?
Eight to twelve guests fit into a three-vehicle convoy with a single chef. Beyond that, we add a cook and a technical vehicle and double the mise en place.
Is special authorisation required to drive in the hinterland?
Yes, some tracks are subject to prefectoral orders or belong to private estates. We only use open, authorised routes, checked ahead of the chosen date.
Does the day go ahead if it rains?
A fallback plan is arranged from the framing stage, in the form of a Provençal farmhouse or an estate terrace. The service moves, the menu stays the same.
Does the chef really cook on site?
Yes, the cooking is done in front of the group, with gas and in an enclosed unit. That is what sets a culinary safari apart from an outing with a restaurant meal.
How are allergies and special diets taken into account?
Everything is recorded during the framing stage, line by line, with the delegation's point of contact. Two complete menus, one free from animal products and the other gluten-free, are served at the pace of the main menu.
How long before the trade fair should the day be booked?
MIPIM week saturates vehicles, drivers and private venues. Framing started several weeks before the opening leaves a choice of direction and time slot.
Organising your culinary safari during MIPIM
From Marseille, Monsieur et Madame organises these 4x4 days for groups hosted in Cannes and along the French Riviera. The duo takes care of the convoy, the cooking and the service from departure to the last place setting.
Nothing is mapped out and nothing is set before a discussion about the group, the free time slot and the preferred direction. Free quote on request, booking and terms via the contact page.