Even as a child, Jean Imbert discovered cooking for himself, leafing through his mother's cookbooks and spending hours at the saucepan.

His grandmother introduced him to the power of cooking: the power to bring people together around a table and make them happy with good food.

Decades later, the Paul Bocuse Institute graduate opened the restaurant “Mamie” (French for “grandma”) in Paris;

her stuffed tomatoes are his favorite dish.

Finally, in June 2021, Imbert succeeded legendary chef Alain Ducasse at Plaza Athénée.

The new engagement of the chef, who has also been enjoyed by celebrities such as Beyoncé, Marion Cotillard and Robert De Niro,

Johanna Christian

Editor in the “Germany and the World” department.

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"Monsieur Dior moved to Avenue Montaigne at the time to be near Plaza Athénée - I love the reference to that story," says the 40-year-old Frenchman.

The art of cooking is also reinvented with each season, and the fact that Dior himself enjoyed cooking and wrote many recipes throughout his life makes the fashion house special.

"Certainly Christian Dior would be very proud of us if he could see this."

The cradle of the "New Look"

In the past two and a half years, the "Hôtel particulier" was renovated, in which Christian Dior opened his "Maison Dior" on December 15, 1946 and made a big impression on February 13, 1947 with his "New Look".

Since March, the city palace in the eighth arrondissement has been open to the public again and Monsieur Dior would hardly recognize it.

Jean Imbert's restaurant occupies only a small portion of the 2,000 square meters.

Between shoes, jewelery and bags, there is ample seating on the three floors of the boutique designed by architect Peter Marino, and works of art hang in almost every corner.

A luxurious suite can be rented on the top floor of the boutique.

In an inner garden, lushly planted by the Belgian landscape architect Peter Wirtz, is a café bar.

Lily of the valley can also be found there - Dior loved the white flowers and sewed them into the hem of one of his dresses for good luck at fashion shows.

Again and again it is such details that, in addition to technological features such as digital iPad product catalogues, point to the rich history of the company.

With the boutique on Avenue Montaigne, "La Galerie Dior" also opens its doors: a museum that tells the story of the fashion house from its beginnings to the present day, through the great Dior designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, John Galliano and Raf Simons.

Conceived by exhibition designer Nathalie Crinière, visitors embark on a journey through time through haute couture, learn a lot about savoir-faire and Monsieur Dior's love of art, gardens and travel.

Also on display is the small metal star that Christian Dior found on April 18, 1946 on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.

At the time, the superstitious fashion designer took the find as a sign that he should venture into a fashion house under his own name.

The star was his lucky charm - the rest is history.