You are so French! Success stories à la française

Welcome to a new episode of You Are So French! I’m excited to share my conversation with Ania Benhamadouche, Director of Sydney marketing agency Bistrot Media. From working in Parisian luxury with renowned brands like Louis Vuitton and Chanel to making her mark in Sydney's hospitality scene, Ania has built a career that spans continents and industries. Starting with a working holiday visa, Ania qu...

In this special episode of You are so French!, I sit down with Frédéric Alliod, the CEO of the Alliance Française French Film Festival , to explore the cultural impact of French cinema in Australia. Recorded just before the start of the 36th edition of the festival, Frédéric shares insights into how it has grown to become the largest French film event outside France. Get a behind-the-scenes look a...

Meet Laurent Boillon, the trailblazing founder of Laurent Bakery, on this episode of You are so French! The Podcast. Discover how Laurent transitioned from a budding pastry chef in from Aix-en-Provence to revolutionising the Australian bakery scene over 35 years. Experience Laurent's passionate journey as he mastered French baking techniques, introduced Australians to the art of sourdough, and sca...

Welcome to another episode of You Are So French! Today, I’m joined by Eva Bonnet, better known as Bonjour Mate on social media. With over 500,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok, Eva brings the quirks of French culture and language to life through her engaging and humorous videos. Eva’s Australian’s story began in Melbourne with love and a corporate job. Passionate about pastry, she created a sm...

Welcome to another episode of You Are So French! Today, I am excited to chat with Max Chaury. Even though Max has only been in Sydney for a year, it’s clear that he doesn’t need much time to make a mark and embrace new opportunities. In his early thirties, Max has already lived across five continents and worked in diverse fields, including a stint with the French army. Max is now settled in Sydney...

In this episode, I have the pleasure of chatting with Olfa Hafsa, a naturopath, nutritionist, and counsellor who has called Brisbane home for the past 12 years. Olfa initially came to Australia as a consultant, drawn by the promise of the so-called Australian quality of life. Through her personal health journey, she developed a profound interest in alternative medicine and the impact of lifestyle...

In this episode, we sit down with Jean-Pierre Chabrol, a digital media expert specialised in cultural institutions. Having spent two decades in Australia spearheading digital transformations at prestigious art organisations like the National Gallery of Victoria and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia in Sydney, Jean-Pierre recently made a significant move back to France for a new chapter in h...

Welcome to today's episode, a special design edition for Melbourne Design Week 2024. We are joined by Mathilde Delatte, the founder and creative director of Belleville Studio in Melbourne. In this conversation, we explore Mathilde’s journey in Australia, which began with a dream and a lot of courage. We delve into the essence of French style, Mathilde’s perspective on the local design scene, and h...

In this episode we have the pleasure of hearing from Olivier Vojetta. Much like many of our previous guests, Olivier has been living several lives, before Australia and since he settled in Sydney in 2012. Throughout his journey, he has grappled with duality, and Australia has provided him with both the space and the mindset to fully explore this aspect of his life. In this conversation, Olivier sh...

Welcome to today's episode where I am chatting with Thomas, also known as Thomas l'Ingénieur on social media. Originally from Britany in France, Thomas has been living—and surfing!—in Sydney for ten years now. He's living his Australian dream and is passionate about helping other young professionals do the same. Thomas is a real go-getter. He creates YouTube content in French to share his valuable...

Welcome to today's episode, where I have the pleasure of chatting with Eric Fusil, a remarkable individual wearing many hats: naval architect, consultant, Associate Professor, and expert in submarine defence based in Adelaide. But Eric's Australian story goes beyond his professional expertise. When he, along with his wife and three young children, embarked on a new life in Australia in 2015, they...

Welcome to the first episode of 2024, and what a better way to start the year than talking about cheese! Today we speak with Matthieu Megard from L’Artisan Cheese-Organic. Matthieu is the founder, managing director and master Cheesemaker of L’Artisan and has been researching how to bring the best of French cheese tradition to Australia since 2009. Through his own experience and story, Matthieu bri...

In this new episode of the podcast, I meet with Elise Léger. If you are a French person in Australia, you probably receive emails from Elise every now and then. Being an active member of the French community is indeed one of Elise’s many hats. Elise is an elected member for the French Citizens in Australia, Fiji, Papua Guinea and she also sits at the Assembly of the French People Overseas represen...

In today's episode, we follow Jean-François Rupp founder of Alpine Nature Experience in Victoria's High Country and the Australian Alps. Jean-François grew up in the French Alps and the mountain is its happy place. At first glance, we may wonder why he decided to call Australia home then. But it seems that life had a plan for him down under. With Jean-Francois we talked about the Australian mounta...

In this episode of You are so French we are warmly invited into the beautiful world of Elise Pioch Balzac, founder of Maison Balzac. During this conversation, Elise takes us on a journey. We travel through her childhood memories in the south of France and her debut in the fashion world in Paris. We then fly with her to Australia where she first landed twenty years ago. With Elise we talked about s...

In today’s episode I meet with Jean-François Ponthieux, the man behind So Frenchy So Chic. Many of us know this annual rendez-vous with French music hosted as a joyful picnic in the heart of the Australian summer. Over the years, the festival has showcased more than 50 of France’s top talents, including The Dø, Clara Luciani, Lou Doillon and Brigitte to name only a few. But So Frenchy So Chic is n...

I am very honoured today to receive in You are so French! Monsieur Dominique Portet, a French winemaker who has been living and working in Australia for more than 40 years. Dominique is the ninth generation of winemakers so we talked about his family background from the Bordeaux region in France and how he exported his skills and heritage to Australia when the country was still a very young player...

In today’s episode, I am chatting with my tenth guest Matthieu Jacomin. Matthieu works in the digital tech industry as an investor, advisor and expert in growth and revenue and is based in Sydney Northern Beaches. In a nutshell Matthieu is living the Australian’s dream of many. But his story with Australia didn’t start so fancy. Before Sydney, there was a farm in remote WA and a ride from Perth to...

In this episode of You are so French! I chat with Carole Sarasa, who is from the south west of France and is now based in Melbourne. Carole shares her experience working for an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation (ACCO). She explains how this chapter of her professional life changed her deeply and gave a new meaning to her life as a white immigrant in Australia. Carole is also a Board Mem...

Nicolas Fleury is the French-born Principal French Horn of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. With generosity and a sincere enthusiasm for the city he chose to call home, Nicolas is sharing his Australian story and is telling us why Melbourne makes his heart sing. A melodious surprise is hiding in this episode, bonne écoute! Follow Melbourne Symphony Orchestra to keep in touch with Nicolas' music a...

In today’s episode we are chatting with Claire Voss. Claire is a French Perth based professional ballerina who performed at a soloist level and who has just retired from the West Australian Ballet in December 2022. Her new venture Voss Moves is all about movement just like Claire’s life and energy. Be ready for a conversation full of moving faces - you can hear laugh and smiles! - moving memories...

A conversation with Olivier David, former Executive Director of the West Australian Ballet and former Head of Customer Service at L’Oréal Australia and Swatch Group Australia. From his first local connections made through music to his professional experiences as a senior executive at luxury global companies and the WA Ballet, Olivier’s journey in Australia has always been led by his heart’s beats....

In the Petit Podcast series of You are so French! we catch up with previous guests to hear what they have been up to.  In this short conversation with Laure Legros @ClimateFresk, our guest from episode 4, we talked about her achievements of the year including her 2022 French of the Year in Australia award, her holidays travel plans and an update on her return to France.   Bonne écoute!

A special episode wrapping up season 1, announcing season 2 and telling you what happened between seasons for You are so French! founder Aurélie. 2022 marked a chapter in Aurélie's own Australian success story with the arrival of her baby boy and a long overdue trip back to France.    Follow @youaresofrench.thepodcast on Instagram and watch this space for Season 2 coming soon.      

In the 5th episode of You are so French! we chat with Alexandra Ganipeau the founder of The French Hack , a tuition solution where learning French is meant to be fun and feels like a club more than a school. Alexandra also takes us back in time when she arrived in Melbourne 25 years ago and tells us how the city and the local French community have changed since then.   Find and follow The French H...