Chef Éric Guérin exhibits his sketches in Arles

Nell Giroir | 4/17/25, 10:58 AM

In Arles, Éric Guérin reveals another facet of his world. His kitchen sketches are on show at the Festival du Dessin, in a group exhibition celebrating the links between art and gastronomy.

Before setting a plate, Éric Guérin often begins by drawing it. at La Mare aux Oiseaux, his 3-toque home in the heart of the Brière region, culinary creation begins on paper. Sketches, colors, textures... It's this process that the chef shares today in Arles, on the occasion of the Festival du Dessin, in the collective exhibition La cuisine en dessins. A sensitive incursion into the intimate world of a chef-artist.

A cuisine that begins with the line

The precision and poetry of Éric Guillemot's cooking is perhaps due to the fact that it takes shape long before the stove. In his notebooks, Éric Guérin imagines his dishes as he would a sketch: guided by emotion, memories or the inspiration of a place. For him, drawing is a tool for creation, memory and transmission. It's also a way of bringing an idea to life, before it becomes flat. It's an instinctive, personal gesture that he's now sharing for the first time in an artistic setting.

A spring dedicated to drawing

Created in 2023 by Vera Michalski and Frédéric Pajak, the Festival du Dessin d'Arles has established itself in just a few editions as one of the highlights of the cultural spring. Every year, the city is transformed into an open-air gallery, with exhibitions, performances, conferences and meetings. For this third edition, from April 12 to May 11 2025, some forty artists are invited to explore all facets of drawing, from the most classical to the most contemporary.
Among them, Éric Guérin takes part in the group exhibition La cuisine en dessins, alongside Michel Oliver, Amandine Chaignot, David Muñoz and Alain Chapel. An opportunity to highlight the close links between the artistic gesture and the culinary gesture.

These news might interest you

News & Events

Follow the chenin

The king of the Loire grape varieties, also widespread in South Africa, "ch'nin", as the people of the Loire pronounce it, has the extraordinary ability to produce dry white wines as well as semi-dry, sweet, syrupy and even sparkling wines, commonly known as fines bulles. Complex and demanding, it is nonetheless endearing.

Read

News & Events

What temperature should I serve my wine at?

If you break out the ice bucket at the slightest bottle of white and the reds never leave your kitchen, here's a simple guide to avoiding these wine temperature faux-pas.

Read

News & Events

10 great restaurants where you can (also) don your kitchen apron

People no longer come to restaurants just for lunch or dinner. At a time when cooking secrets are no longer the preserve of top chefs, people come as early as 9am to put on their apron... before unfolding the napkin on their knees.

Read

Craftsmen & Know-How

Pâtiss'Art announces its first edition with Nina Métayer as godmother

Normandy goes pastry. From October 26 to 28, 2024, the first Pâtiss'Art show will be held in Deauville. For the occasion, the godmother will be none other than Nina Métayer.

Read

Tables & Chefs

8 terraces to eat well and enjoy the sun in Paris

Spring is well and truly here in Paris, and the urge to dine al fresco is growing. Here are eight addresses where you can soak up the sun and enjoy a good meal at the same time.

Read