In this episode of Paths, I welcome Alexandre Coing, co-director of Fooding since 2022. This media outlet, launched in 2000 as an alternative to traditional gastronomic guides, shook things up by popularizing bistronomy and integrating food into pop culture. Its offbeat and accessible tone won over food enthusiasts and a broader audience alike. Yet Le Fooding has undergone several turning points: its acquisition by Michelin, often seen as a contradiction to its original spirit, and the departure of Alexandre Cammas, its founding editor, in 2022. How do you take the helm of a media outlet you didn't found? How do you preserve the soul of Fooding while evolving within a major group like Michelin?
- Rapid evolution
In 2014, Alexandre Coing joined Le Fooding as an intern. The team was then made up of just eight people. This rapid immersion in a fast-growing media outlet allowed him to gain experience across multiple aspects of the profession.
« It was a six-month internship where I went through two different assignments: three months in editorial, verifying restaurant reviews, and three months in the partnerships team, which generated revenue through sponsors and advertisers. We were a very small team back then, which allowed me to get involved in everything and learn a lot in a short time. »
This limited framework becomes a kind of school and enables rapid immersion in how the media works. A year after joining, Alexandre Coing becomes head of partnerships. His role: to develop collaborations with brands while ensuring that these associations remain aligned with the media's DNA. These partnerships take various forms: events, sponsored content (clearly identified as such), custom guides… and are produced by journalists on the team.
« What appealed to me was thinking of partnership and advertising operations as media in their own right, with stories that have meaning, impact, and originality. »
At the same time, Alexandre Coing takes on additional responsibilities: human resources management, accounting, and finance.
" Alexandre Cammas and Marine Bidaud, the cofounders, wanted to work on the possibility of bringing in an investor or selling the company. I was quickly brought into this project: I'd just graduated from business school, I could work on Excel spreadsheets and business plans. In 2019, my title officially changed and I became operations director. "
- Step back to move forward
After six years of rapid growth at Fooding, Alexandre Coing decided in 2020 to take a professional break.
« I hadn't taken a vacation since my baccalaureate exam. I worked every summer, always had an internship, then went straight into Le Fooding after school. I needed to clear my head and refresh my spirit. That's where the idea came from to take a cycling tour across Europe. Covid ultimately derailed the project, but that period gave me time to breathe and think about what I wanted to keep or not keep in my work.
This pause marks a profound questioning. He doesn't know if he will return to the Fooding, but after several months of reflection, the decision becomes inevitable.
" I left in January 2020 and by the end of the year, I got back in touch with Le Fooding to tell them that actually, I really wanted to come back and that the story wasn't over. And they were thinking pretty much the same thing, so it was good news. "
- A profound transformation after Covid
When Alexandre Coing returns, Le Fooding is weakened by the pandemic.
« Le Fooding does two things. It talks about restaurants: they are closed. It holds events: they are banned. »
At the same time, the media undergoes restructuring: its founders leave the venture and Michelin buys 100% of the shares, a development that raises questions about the independence of Fooding.
Michelin then hires Sophie Alexandre, transition chief executive officer, to support the media's transformation.
« Her year-long tenure allowed us to establish new governance, a new distribution of roles, and new hires. It enabled us to create a sustainable, durable organization with less hierarchical management. We also asked ourselves what the new Fooding would look like: how could we take a brand that had been highly prescriptive for twenty years into a new environment? What will the next twenty years look like? »
On the question of the buyout, Alexandre Coing seeks to reassure.
« This acquisition created some distrust: how do you stay relevant and irreverent when you're part of a much larger and more traditional group? I answer that by explaining that editorial independence is complete. We're not in the same offices as Michelin, and we run Le Fooding in a completely autonomous way. The only thing that changed is the capital relationship, but that's it. »
- Organized in pairs
Following Sophie Alexandre's departure, Alexandre Coing and Christine Doublet assume joint leadership of the Fooding, a model inherited from the founders that is built on complementarity and collaboration.
« I find it extremely healthy to have a model where decisions aren't made solo. There's a question of complementarity, exchange, and collective work. We share responsibilities, ideas, the load, the representation. This organization is both a relief and an enrichment. »
- Tomorrow: going further in commitment
Since its takeover, Le Fooding has strengthened its progressive positioning by taking on subjects such as inclusivity, environmental responsibility and combating violence in gastronomy.
« We're seeing more and more that gastronomy is a polarizing subject. There's clearly a co-opting of certain values that food can carry by the far right. Several movements are using culinary traditions to serve an agenda that's broadly racist. On our side, I believe we've pushed the boundaries of commitment a bit further. »
In practice, this translates into an evolution of content and a diversification of topics covered.
« In our rankings, we highlight women, we talk about alcohol-free options, places outside Paris. We've also expanded a section we call magazine, which goes beyond restaurant reviews. We're striving to go deeper in our analysis and in our commitment to progressive values. It's not a revolution, because these things already existed, but it is a notable evolution because we're making them more visible. »
Another challenge: moving away from an overly Paris-centric view of gastronomy.
« Over the past four years, three quarters of the restaurants that receive awards are outside Paris. »
Finally, Le Fooding is banking on diversifying its activities.
“We’re branching out into new areas of expertise and business lines. We launched a publishing house this year. We’ve gone all-in on digital. We’ve launched a new app, a new website, a new newsletter format, and plenty of new formats on social media. And each channel is treated as a media platform in its own right. This openness helps us gain legitimacy and credibility.”
To go further
- In the first episode of the second season of our Chemins podcast, we welcome Cécile Sourd, chief executive of the independent online news outlet specializing in investigative journalism Mediapart. With 220,000 paying digital subscribers and 139 staff members, the media celebrated fifteen years in 2023 and reached a turning point with the departure of Edwy Plenel, a historic figure in the newsroom. How do you manage such a transition?
- Management is often seen as the media industry's weak point, mainly because of the lack of training for people who find themselves leading newsrooms. Yet several situations can lead journalists to take on leadership positions and manage teams. Our guide to taking care of your human resources.
- Agency, merchandise, publishing… In this practical guide, an overview to help you diversify your income.
- In the face of distrust, transparency. From
- Want to discover other printed formats about food? It's this way, in video!
