This new role is "a source of pride" for this young blonde woman with a slender figure, high school diploma at 16, valedictorian in 2017 from the Bocuse Institute, one of the most famous cooking schools in the world.
Every day, Naïs, his second Arthur Debray and his Canadian clerk Cole Millard, refine their recipes, kept secret, in a house lent by the Bocuse Institute.
Arthur Debray sees her as "a captain" and "a fighter", who knows how to express "her convictions and her desires".
He admires the “risks she takes to represent France at her age”.
That day, the trio got down to cutting a jig of deer, the theme of one of the events of the Bocuse d'Or Europe, scheduled for March 23 and 24 in Budapest, Hungary.
“For the moment, we are getting to know the product and once we have found the taste and the technique, we will seek to optimize each gesture because every second counts” during the competition, declares Naïs Pirollet, concentrated, hair raised in a bun .
The European selection includes two events: a vegetarian dish around the potato and a platter on the theme of deer, in 5:35 against 16 other teams - all led by a man.
On the walls of the kitchen, the word "simplicity" is displayed in various places to guide the development of their dishes.
Chef Naïs Pirollet at the Paul Bocuse Institute, January 21, 2022 in Ecully, in the Rhône JEFF PACHOUD AFP / Archives
The preparations also include physical training, essential for "staying dynamic and clearing your mind" but also for "loading ports" important in the kitchen, explains Naïs.
"Little Hands"
The Bocuse d'Or, Naïs Pirollet has already experienced it from the inside by assisting Davy Tissot, the French chef who won the trophy in September 2021 and put his foot in the stirrup.
She has "never been a chef", never led a brigade in a restaurant, but in November 2021, she won the French selection.
And becomes the first woman at the head of the tricolor team in the international competition created in 1987.
However, nothing predestined her to the kitchen.
The daughter of a doctor and a jeweler, she could have embarked on an engineering course if the Bocuse Institute had not offered her a return to school delayed by a few months so that she would reach majority by the time she his freshman internship.
Chef Naïs Pirollet at the Paul Bocuse Institute, January 21, 2022 in Ecully, in the Rhône JEFF PACHOUD AFP / Archives
At the Institute, this reserved woman learns to "have the niaque".
Leaving valedictorian of the prestigious school could have propelled her into the most prominent restaurants.
But his meeting with the chef Davy Tissot opens up other perspectives for him when he allows him to do "little hands" during training with the United States team.
At the time, the idea of participating in competitions "did not cross her mind", even if "the surpassing of oneself" has always attracted her.
When Davy Tissot called her back to join his team for the Bocuse d'Or, "I said yes right away," she recalls.
This competition, often compared to a world cup of gastronomy, "it's adrenaline in the long term whereas in catering, we reach our goal twice a day", estimates the cook.
Chef Tissot, who regularly shares his experience with the young candidate, confirms that the competition is "another way of approaching cooking" where you have to "understand how others do it and how to please 24 international jurors".
Chef Naïs Pirollet and Chef David Tissot, Bocuse d'Or, at the Paul Bocuse Institute, January 21, 2022 in Ecully, in the Rhône JEFF PACHOUD AFP / Archives
Now leader, Naïs Pirollet knows that she must "learn to make (her) decisions".
"It's the same exercise but from another angle", says the one who remains "always guided" by the idea of "gathering around a meal".
And among her notable decisions, it is a woman, Tabata Mey, 44, whom she chose as a coach.
Based in Lyon, the Brazilian made herself known on the show Top Chef and has been part of the very closed circle of starred chefs since 2020.
In 2021, there were around thirty of them in France out of 638 distinguished restaurants.
© 2022 AFP