“No, we still can’t make a living with Hugo!” : Albane Auvray from Top Chef explains why they both don’t get paid

We know that Top Chef is a real boost in the careers of many chefs. Albane Auvray and Hugo Riboulet are proof of this. After participating in season 14 of the cooking competition, the young woman and the winner decided to join forces to open their Groot address in the second arrondissement of the capital. An unexpected collaboration that requires a lot of work. We will explain everything to you.

It was a few months after the end of the Top Chef competition that Hugo and Albane gave life to a joint project with the opening of their restaurant “Groot”. Both wanted to create a street food concept. After some time thinking, they decided together to create an address dedicated to pie. An original and unique idea which has now found a place in the world of food.

A real success for them as the young woman explains during an interview given to Leisure TV : “We are very proud of what we do, because pies are still a lot of work, but it corresponds to our values ​​as cooks. So, we wanted to do street food, but not burgers, because we still did Top Chef. I remembered the pie ordeal and we said to ourselves that it was a really good idea”.

But if their establishment attracts many gourmets, it requires a real investment and certain sacrifices: “No, we still can’t get enough of a salary with Hugo! We prefer to hire more and not get out of salary, because it’s an investment and also risks (laughs)”.

Indeed, Albane says he wants to expand the team with Hugo and ensure their backs for the future: “Today, we have two employees, we are hiring a third at the end of June. We want to become more and more secure, but it’s true that we don’t realize between the charges, the taxes and everything that has to be paid behind, we still don’t have a way to a little something in the pocket, but it will surely be for 2025.”

During an interview, Hugo Riboulet told us that they would also like to expand the brand. Together, they see big things for Groot’s future: “We would like to develop it throughout France; We will surely have several points of sale in Paris. We also have proposals for Lille and we would like to be in Lyon too. We would really like to focus on everything related to events such as festivals and businesses too.”