Marie-Laure Fréchet, lobbyist in the North
With a mischievous glint behind her large round glasses, Marie-Laure Fréchet responds to our interview in front of her well-stocked bookshelf. 'Simone, what are you doing among my papers?' the journalist scolds her overly adventurous cat. Determined to make a meaningful impact on her region, Marie-Laure Fréchet, through her association Mange Lille, has successfully fostered connections among those who shape Northern cuisine. And as a 'Grande Huile' of the Confrérie de la Frite Fraîche Maison, which she co-founded in 2023, she certainly knows a thing or two about mayonnaise.
With a mischievous glint behind her large round glasses, Marie-Laure Fréchet responds to our interview in front of her well-stocked bookshelf. 'Simone, what are you doing among my papers?' the journalist scolds her overly adventurous cat. Determined to make a meaningful impact on her region, Marie-Laure Fréchet, through her association Mange Lille, has successfully fostered connections among those who shape Northern cuisine. And as a 'Grande Huile' of the Confrérie de la Frite Fraîche Maison, which she co-founded in 2023, she certainly knows a thing or two about mayonnaise.
You are from Arras and trained as a journalist. What led you to work on food-related topics?
I didn’t start writing about food immediately after graduating from the Journalism School of Lille. I first worked in regional press and quickly moved on to magazine pages and supplements. I spent ten years at La Voix du Nord, where I was in charge of Féminin Hebdo as the editor of the regional section. That’s how I began to rediscover my region through the lens of lifestyle. By a bit of chance, a publisher contacted me to write a book about estaminets in Flanders. I loved that first editorial experience, and it just continued from there: I wrote a guide to budget restaurants in Lille and then left La Voix du Nord with the intention of focusing on writing about cuisine.
How did your association Mange Lille come about? Who does it bring together today?
I wanted to bring the renewal of gastronomy that I saw emerging to my region, particularly through events like Omnivore and the Maison & Objet fair. Meeting Nicolas Verhulst, a foodie with a background in marketing, was a turning point. We wanted to organize events we would have liked to attend that didn’t yet exist. This was in 2013, and back then, people used to say 'nothing is happening in Lille!' When we talked about the North, people would think of Belgium at best, or even the Nordic countries like Denmark, which was in the midst of Redzepi's (Noma) craze. We held a first dinner with six chefs from the restaurants we loved, and it was a great success. We really paved the way; creating such a collective of chefs and producers was quite unprecedented! Today, Mange Lille has become a key cultural player, Lille’s culinary scene no longer has anything to envy, and I am very proud of the Mange Livre Prize we developed alongside it.
You are the author of the Encyclopedia of Sustainable Food, published in 2021 by Flammarion. Has it always been a given to commit to a food system that doesn’t harm the planet?
It’s part of my own journey, especially through my research on bread for the book Encyclopedia of Homemade Bread. I’m increasingly interested in societal issues related to food rather than just gastronomy. The younger generation also inspires me! I teach the history of culinary journalism to students in the Boire Manger Vivre master's program at Sciences Po Lille, and I've observed this shift: we've moved from leisure pages with a rather bourgeois section to addressing fundamental questions.
Ultimately, you have become a true ambassador for Northern gastronomy and local heritage. Do you find this designation fitting? Is it sometimes limiting?
Not at all! I proudly advocate for my region. And as time goes on, I find myself drawing closer to my roots.
Par Laurène Petit
POTATO PEELS
Because she is stubborn and a bit obsessive, Marie-Laure Fréchet publishes The Big Book of Potatoes with Flammarion. 240 pages dedicated to narrating the history and evolution of a tuber that remains a French favorite: each French person consumes 50 kg per year! Published by Flammarion, with photos by Valérie Lhomme. €35
FAVORITE SPOTS
Her three go-to addresses in the Hauts-de-France region:
La Grenouillère in Madelaine-Sous-Montreuil
Arborescence in Lille Croix
La friterie d'Aurèle Mestré, winner of the first World Fries Championship in 2023.
MANGE LIVRE, AWARD
Sponsored by the Mange Lille association,
this award recognizes a book each year that
resonates with the themes of living food and
flavorful knowledge. In 2022, Marie-Claire
Frédéric emerged as the top choice with her
book Le miel, une autre histoire de l'humanité.
In 2023, Plutôt Nourrir by Noémie Calais and
Clément Osé won the votes of a prestigious
jury, which included journalist François-Régis
Gaudry, a chef based in the Hauts-de-France
region... and, of course, Marie-Laure Fréchet!
FRITE WORLD
In 2023, the first World Fries Championship was held in Arras. On this occasion, Marie-Laure Fréchet founded and presides over the Confrérie de la Frite Fraîche Maison. "I've always loved fries, and then I met Christian Berger (President of Arras Pays d'Artois Tourisme). We thought there was something to be done with fries in Arras, given the city's history and its connection to the potato, particularly thanks to the botanist Charles de l'Ecluse. We took it upon ourselves to address the topic and launched this event, which turned out to be a fantastic unifying experience."
The Revue T, a partnership between Omnivore and Transgourmet, explores and showcases the world of producers and chefs through debates, portraits and reports that make it truly unique.
