Introducing... Champ Libre

Champ Libre is a female-led restaurant in the heart of Paris, fuelled by its own farm and a passion for sustainable, seasonal dining. The restaurant embodies a true farm-to-table philosophy, with every dish showcasing the freshest ingredients harvested from their own farm.

We were lucky enough to spend some time with Alice and the Champ Libre team before service on a Saturday morning.

IG: @champ_libre_cantine

SWC: Can you tell us a little about Champ Libre and why you decided to start your own restaurant? 

Alice: A few years ago, my partner Chloé and I were thinking about changing jobs at the same time. We met in business school and followed a quite classic path afterwards. In 2020, I started a cooking class, and she started agricultural training at the same time. Both of us always had the will to become entrepreneurs, and we thought of a common project, relying on our two new learning journeys. We loved the idea of cultivating bonds between the farm and the table. Shortly after, we met a truly inspiring person who owns his restaurant in Paris, supplied by its own farm. We were really impressed by the synergies he created between those two different worlds. It made a lot of sense to us, and we decided to create our own virtuous ecosystem. This is how we decided to start first our restaurant, and then our farm to supply it with fruits and vegetables. 

SWC: What's one thing happening in the world today that you struggle to accept?

Alice: It’s difficult to answer this question, as there are many things! If I had to pick one, I would choose the agricultural issue: being a farmer is the hardest job, it’s physical, with endless days and weeks, too little vacations, tough conditions sometimes… and it’s one of the lesser paid jobs. It’s unfair, the value created in the world is not well redistributed because farmers feed us all and they are essential to society! On our scale, that’s a problem we try to tackle with Champ Libre..

SWC: What's one rule in the restaurant industry that you think is outdated or unnecessary?

Alice: One should always have Coca Cola on their menu, because the customer wants it. That’s outdated! There are so many good, healthy, organic, locally produced soft drinks on the market today. We made our selection among the French ones we personally loved and decided to introduce them to our customers. Usually, they love it!

SWC: What's the one challenge of running a restaurant in Paris that no one talks about?

Alice: There are many challenges: be visible, be full house every day, keep your customers happy each day, reduce turnover in your staff, keep your equipment working year on year… all while trying to be profitable. That’s not easy! But the one challenge I have rarely heard of is this one: how can we stay fit with all the good food we eat day after day?!

SWC: Is there a connection between natural wine and the way you approach food? Or are they two different worlds?

Alice: Yes, there is. We have one big principle in our restaurant: encourage and support sustainable agriculture. Most of the fruits and vegetables we cook come from our organic farm, located West of Paris. Every other product we use is sourced as locally as possible and for most of them we
work directly with the producers. Our raw materials come from virtuous farming practices and are mainly organic. We have the same approach with wine: natural wines come from a more sustainable agriculture, as it uses no chemicals, even during the winemaking. This is why we chose to have natural wines only on our menu, it seemed logical to us. There is one more reason: we personally prefer natural wines and couldn’t imagine serving something we didn’t adore!

SWC: What's next for Champ Libre?

Alice: End of 2024, we acquired our farm in a natural park called the Vexin, West of Paris. It’s truly beautiful. We grow the vegetables we cook in our restaurant there, but not only: the farm has 2 guesthouses we just opened. They can be rented to spend time in the countryside, one hour from Paris. Our next focus will be to develop this new activity, while continuing to run our restaurant and the farm. Maybe one day we’ll open a restaurant there? Meanwhile, come say hi!

The Team wears: