Après une thèse de doctorat soutenue en 2001, il a d'abord obtenu un poste de maître de conférences à l’université de Reims en 2002, puis un poste de professeur en 2007. En 2012 il crée, avec sa collègue Clara Cilindre (biochimiste de formation), une équipe spécifiquement dévolue à l’étude des phénomènes d’effervescence et de mousse dans le domaine des boissons à bulles au sens large (avec comme application phare, l’effervescence des vins de Champagne). Gérard Liger-Belair est professeur de physique à l'université de Reims-Champagne-Ardenne. Ses recherches portent sur les processus à l'origine de la formation et du comportement des bulles dans le champagne et les vins effervescents.

A graduate of the École Emile Cohl in Lyon, she spent four years there—from 1997 to 2001—studying a curriculum focused on various artistic practices applied to the fields of illustration and graphic design. Fresh out of school, she collaborated with Gilles Bernard on a monograph dedicated to the surrealist painter Alfred Courmes, published by Le Cherche Midi in 2004. The book features a foreword by philosopher Michel Onfray. True to the entrepreneurial spirit that has always driven her family, Vitalie Taittinger founded a small company in 2002 and developed numerous projects in the world of wine and gastronomy. In 2007, inspired by her father Pierre-Emmanuel’s successful takeover of the Taittinger Champagne House, Vitalie expressed her desire to join the company.

Ryōko Sekiguchi naît à Tokyo et grandit dans le quartier de Shinjuku. Elle étudie le journalisme à l'Université Waseda, où elle choisit le français par amour de sa cuisine. Diplômée en 1993, elle part étudier l'histoire de l'art à la Sorbonne, puis poursuit ses recherches au Japon : elle obtient en 1996 un doctorat en littérature comparée et études culturelles à l'université de Tokyo. Installée en France depuis près de vingt ans, elle est autrice d'une dizaine de livres en français et en japonais, traductrice littéraire, et directrice éditoriale de la collection « Le Banquet » chez Picquier. Elle organise aussi des événements reliant littérature, cuisine et art, et collabore régulièrement avec des institutions comme l'Inalco. Parmi ses ouvrages : Le Nuage, dix façons de le préparer (Éditions de l'Épure), Nagori (P.O.L, 2018), Le Club des gourmets (P.O.L), 961 heures à Beyrouth (et 321 plats qui les accompagnent) (P.O.L, 2021) et Venise, millefleurs (P.O.L, 2026). Côté traduction, elle a fait connaître en japonais des auteurs comme Jean Echenoz, Mathias Énard, Atiq Rahimi et Daniel Heller-Roazen, et a traduit en français Yôko Tawada, Gôzô Yoshimasu, ainsi que de nombreux mangas. Elle a été faite Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres en 2012.

Sonia Ezgulian inherited her love of cooking and entertaining from her Armenian grandmother. A self-taught journalist, she worked for ten years at the weekly magazine *Paris Match*, where she eventually succeeded in establishing a food column. From 1999 to 2006, she ran the restaurant Oxalis in Lyon, whose reputation spread far beyond the borders of the “Capital of Gaul.” A multifaceted personality, Sonia Ezgulian proudly embraces her role as a cook and thrives in the world of The visible universe is estimated to contain some 100 billion galaxies. Here is the M101 galaxy, also known as NGC 5457 or the Pinwheel Galaxy. © Carsten Frenzl, Flickr, CC by 2.0 Universe The term “universe” refers to the totality of everything that exists. This totality is governed by a certain number of laws. The history of the universe began some 13.7 billion years ago… Read more about what she has imagined—the little things that change everyday life, a way to break out of the routine. A master of kitchen creativity and the art of transforming scraps, she pairs flavors with a touch of the unexpected.

Jérôme Viard was born in 1970 in Châlons-en-Champagne. The grandson of a wheelwright and son of a carpenter and cabinetmaker, he studied marketing techniques, oenology, and the economics of Champagne before founding the Tonnellerie de Champagne-Ardenne in 1998, the only active cooperage in northeastern France. His artisanal business now employs 10 people and manufactures or repairs nearly 1,500 barrels per year. Jérôme Viard earned the “Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant” (Living Heritage Company) designation for the Tonnellerie in 2006—renewed in 2012—as well as the Marne Young Tourism Talent Award for his guided tour program in 2013. As a craftsman preserving Champagne’s traditional expertise, he has also developed innovative ideas such as the alternating toasting of barrels, the amphora-style barrel, and the wooden muselet plate. He also founded the “Gîte de la Tonnellerie” in 2012.

Lauriane Payer, a ceramic artist based in Reims, founded the ATOME brand in 2022 with the goal of creating pieces in which material, texture, and craftsmanship take center stage. In 2025, she opened Atelier Studio ATOME, located at 12 rue de la Tirelire in Reims—a hybrid space combining a creative studio, a coworking space dedicated to ceramics, and an exhibition gallery. Each piece is entirely handcrafted, with particular attention paid to the choice of materials, textures, and finishes. Her aesthetic is characterized by organic shapes, delicate materials, and raw hues with subtle contrasts. She also develops bespoke collaborations with champagne houses, restaurants, and tableware brands, designing exclusive collections and custom pieces that are crafted in harmony with each brand’s identity and aesthetic.

Ben&Manu is a duo formed by Benoît Vauthier and Manu Lerendu, two French cabinetmakers and sculptors based in La Petite-Raon, in the Vosges. Their collaboration began in 2012, when they met at the Institut Québécois d’Ébénisterie in Canada. After graduating, they participated in several competitions in which their creations won awards, reinforcing their desire to continue their collaboration under the name Ben&Manu. Upon returning to France in 2015, they set up their workshop first in the Vendée, then in the Drôme, before settling in the Vosges in 2021. Cabinetmaking has long been an art form dedicated to ennobling furniture, where wood was enhanced by rare and precious materials. At a time when these exotic materials have become readily available, Ben&Manu have chosen to redefine the very concept of preciousness. For them, the true riches of the contemporary world are now time, space, and contemplation. From this reflection emerged a unique approach: to bring forth, by hand, sculpted landscapes on functional surfaces. Going against the grain of industrial design—which tends to standardize objects and prioritize efficiency—they have developed a sensitive and poetic approach. Their creations seek to evoke emotion, catch the eye, and offer moments of contemplation and daydreaming in everyday life.

Gabriel Lepousez is a neurobiologist specializing in sensory perception and brain plasticity. He holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and is currently a research fellow in the Perception and Memory Laboratory. For more than 15 years, Gabriel has been studying how our sensory brain perceives, analyzes, stores, and interprets information from our environment, and how these processes malfunction in certain neurological disorders. His work focuses on the fundamental mechanisms of olfactory perception and memory, the principles of brain regeneration, and interoception—the ability to perceive our body’s internal signals through body-brain communication. Passionate about oenology and wine tasting, Gabriel draws on all his expertise as a neuroscience researcher to understand how taste is formed in our brain, in light of the latest scientific discoveries. He is the driving force behind a new neurosensory approach to wine tasting, which he teaches in several university programs in France and abroad, as well as in international wine education programs. He is a regular speaker at conferences for the wine industry and in the media. He is a member of the Tasting Committee of the *Revue du Vin de France*, a member of the Académie du Vin de France and the Académie Amorim, and a member of the College of Rectors of the Union des Œnologues de France.

An Omnidesigner © and graduate of ENSCI (École Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle), Sylvie Amar is the creative director of the Food Design agency. She is a design virtuoso—a multifaceted creator who is sensitive, curious, and exacting, and who advocates for concepts that are immediately understandable. In 1997, immediately after graduating, she founded her own full-service design agency to address a range of expectations and needs in the lifestyle sector, with a very specific focus: gastronomy. Within a few years, her expertise and her sleek, elegant style opened the doors to the world’s greatest chefs. As a result, leading figures in French gastronomy—such as Pierre Gagnaire, Olivier Rœllinger, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and Jean-Michel Lorain—place their trust in her, as she has a deep understanding of the complexities of the hospitality and restaurant industry and the precision required in the solutions she provides. Today, her holistic approach, her experience, and her deep understanding of food culture enable her to bring creative ideas and a strategic vision to the culinary arts, agriculture, the food industry, and hospitality. Sylvie Amar embodies the brands she works for: product design, scenography, retail concepts, brand strategy, branding, packaging, and/or communication are her everyday tools for telling the right story and bringing her vision to life.

Food critic, author, content creator (It’s Better When It’s Good), culinary ethnologist, holds a master’s degree in the history of cuisine (DEA), and has a Ph.D. in truffles