Queen of the castle

DANIELA LAVADENZ • Le Saint Sébastien

WORK • Friday Routine

DANIELA LAVADENZ • restaurant owner • Le Saint Sébastien
Neighborhood you live and work in: 11th arr

It’s Friday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
Le Saint Sébastien is a neo-bistrot in the 11th, which is where I live too, within walking distance of the restaurant. We’re only open for dinner, so we start our work day at 14h. I’m very involved in the daily operational life of the restaurant, all day, every day, which is normal when you work for yourself. My husband is a business owner, too; he runs a great craft brewery near Paris, Deck & Donohue, and his schedule is dynamic like mine, so we’ve created our own balance. Fridays are often a very busy service for us; it requires organization of the main room (where we welcome the guests), the wine selection, and coordination between kitchen and front of house. A few hours before service, things feel lively — great vibes, and a little bit of adrenaline before the evening starts.

What’s on the agenda for today?
Small but important tasks — replying to client requests, paying invoices, validating wine orders with the providers, checking food costs, and creating social media content. I need to catch up on them now, as tomorrow, I’m going to be on the floor, so I’ll have less time for the back office tasks.

Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
This weekend, we’re heading to Alsace, where my husband is from. He’s booked us a table at La Nouvelle Auberge in the village of Wihr-au-Val. We’re going for its amazing wine program, so I’m really excited to discover the menu. Another restaurant I loved for the wine is La Table de Chaintré in Mâcon in Burgundy. It has one of the best wine lists in the region, so I’m keen to go back. Otherwise, in Paris, I often go to Clamato, Café du Coin for their pizzetas, Ten Belles for a quick lunch (they have the best egg mayo focaccia) and Le Mary Celeste for a small bite to eat with a nice glass of wine.

Any weekend getaways?
We own a cottage in the north of Burgundy, in a region called Yonne, and for the last two years, we go there as much as our schedules let us. Since we bought it, every second of my free time has been spent looking around for interior inspiration, then scouring secondhand websites like Le Bon Coin, Proantic, Interencheres, and the auction house Drouot for furniture, china, chandeliers, and so on. My other main activity since we bought the cottage is planting raspberries and blackberries out in the garden, and removing the weeds. During the summers we’ve been going to Les Estivales de Puisaye, which puts on an amazing show of classical music in castles and chapels around Yonne.

I also love visiting castles, the villages around them, and during the summertime, the village flea markets. Among my favorites are Château de Fontainebleau and Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, both around a one-and-a-half-hour drive from Paris, and Château d'Azay-le-Rideau, which is around a four-and-a-half-hour drive.

What was your last great vacation?
It was the Scottish Highlands in April last year, a destination that I’d had in mind for a really long time. We stayed at The Whitebridge Hotel, a beautiful old hunting lodge turned hotel and pub in Inverness before driving up to the Isle of Skye where we stayed at Viewfield House, a gorgeous Victorian manor house in Portree. Whilst there we visited Stirling Castle and Urquhart Castle (like I said, I love castles), Rosslyn Chapel and Roslin Glen, and Scone Palace, a former royal Scottish palace, nothing to do with pastry! The restaurant we loved the most was Inver in Strathlachlan in Argyll & Bute.

What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
A patchwork platter from Astier de Villatte & Saquai. I think it was a limited edition, but I love what Astier de Villatte do in general. I'm a big fan of the coupelles, which are like small dishes or saucers, and the coupe and the gobelet in the Lion Collection.