Alexandre Coing is co-director of Fooding. He is a guest on the third season of Chemins, the podcast by Médianes.
In this episode of *Chemins*, I’m joined by Alexandre Coing, co-director of *Le Fooding* since 2022. Launched in 2000 as an alternative to traditional restaurant guides, this media outlet has shaken things up by popularizing “bistronomy” and integrating food into pop culture. Its offbeat and accessible tone has appealed to food enthusiasts as well as a broader audience. However, Le Fooding has experienced several turning points: its acquisition by Michelin, often seen as a departure from its original spirit, and the departure of Alexandre Cammas, its longtime founder, in 2022. How do you take the helm of a media outlet you didn’t found? How do you preserve the spirit of Le Fooding while evolving within a major corporation like Michelin?
Rapid evolution
In 2014, Alexandre Coing joined Le Fooding as an intern. At the time, the team consisted of only eight people. This rapid immersion in a rapidly growing media outlet allowed him to gain experience in various aspects of the field.
“It was a six-month internship during which I worked on two different assignments: three months in the editorial department, reviewing restaurant reviews, and three months in the partnerships division, which generated revenue through sponsors and advertisers. We were a very small team back then, which allowed me to get my hands on everything and learn a great deal in a short amount of time.”
This small, close-knit environment becomes a kind of training ground and allows for rapid immersion in the inner workings of the media outlet. One year after joining, Alexandre Coing became head of partnerships. His role: to develop collaborations with brands while ensuring that these partnerships remain in line with the media outlet’s DNA. These partnerships take various forms—events, sponsored content (clearly identified as such), personalized guides, and more—and are produced by the team’s journalists.
"What I liked was thinking of partnership and advertising campaigns as media in their own right, with stories that are meaningful, impactful, and original."
At the same time, Alexandre Coing takes on additional responsibilities: human resources management, accounting, and finance.
“Alexandre Cammas and Marine Bidaud, the co-founders, wanted to explore the possibility of bringing in an investor or selling the company. I was quickly brought on board with this project: I had just graduated from business school and was able to work on Excel spreadsheets and business plans. In 2019, my title officially changed, and I became director of operations.”
Step back to move forward
After six years of rapid advancement at Fooding, Alexandre Coing decided in 2020 to take a career break.
“I hadn’t taken a vacation since high school; I worked every summer, was always doing an internship, and then started at Le Fooding right after graduation. I needed to clear my head and recharge my body. That’s where the idea to go on a bike tour of Europe came from. COVID ultimately put a stop to the project, but that time allowed me to take a breather and think about what I wanted to keep—and what I didn’t—in my work.”
This break marks a period of deep self-reflection. He doesn't know if he'll return to Fooding, but after several months of thinking it over, the decision becomes clear.
“I left in January 2020, and toward the end of the year, I resumed talks with Le Fooding to tell them that, after all, I really wanted to come back and that the story wasn’t over. And they were thinking along the same lines, so that was good news.”
A profound transformation after Covid
When Alexandre Coing returned, Le Fooding had been weakened by the pandemic.
"Le Fooding does two things. It writes about restaurants: they're closed. It organizes events: that's not allowed."
At the same time, the media outlet is undergoing a restructuring: its founders are stepping down, and Michelin is acquiring 100% of the shares—a development that raises questions about Le Fooding’s independence.
Michelin then hires Sophie Alexandre, transition chief executive officer, to support the media's transformation.
“Her leadership, which lasted a year, allowed us to implement a new governance structure, a new division of roles, and new hires. It enabled us to create a sustainable, long-lasting organization with a less hierarchical management structure. We also asked ourselves what the new Fooding would look like: how could we guide a brand that had been a major influencer 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.
« Ce rachat a créé de la défiance : comment rester pertinent et impertinent quand on est dans un groupe beaucoup plus gros et traditionnel que soi ? J’y réponds en expliquant que l’indépendance éditoriale est totale. On n’est pas dans les mêmes locaux que Michelin, et on gère Le Fooding de façon complètement autonome. La seule chose qui a changé, c’est le lien capitalistique, mais c’est tout. »
Organized in pairs
Following Sophie Alexandre’s departure, Alexandre Coing and Christine Doublet have taken over as co-CEOs of Fooding, a model inherited from the founders that is based on complementarity and collaboration.
“I find it extremely healthy to have a model where decisions aren’t made by one person alone. It’s about complementarity, exchange, and collective effort. We share responsibilities, ideas, the workload, and the implementation. This way of organizing is both a relief and an enrichment.”
Tomorrow: going further in commitment
Since its acquisition, Le Fooding has strengthened its progressive stance by addressing issues such as inclusivity, environmental responsibility, and the fight against violence in the culinary industry.
“It’s becoming increasingly clear that gastronomy is a polarizing topic. There’s clearly a reappropriation by the far right of some of the values that food could embody. Several movements are using culinary traditions to advance an agenda that is, on the whole, quite racist. For our part, I believe we’ve taken our commitment a step further.”
In practice, this translates into an evolution of content and a diversification of topics covered.
“In our rankings, we highlight women, we cover non-alcoholic options, and we feature places outside of Paris. We’ve also expanded a section we call ‘magazine,’ which goes beyond restaurant reviews. We’re seeking to go deeper in our analysis and in our commitment to progressive values. It’s not a revolution—because these elements already existed—but it’s a significant 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 have received awards are located outside Paris."
Finally, Le Fooding is focusing on diversifying its business activities.
“We’re branching out into other areas of expertise and business lines. We launched a publishing house this year. We’ve expanded our digital presence significantly. 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.”
"Chemins" is a podcast produced by Médianes. Season 3 is hosted by Marine Slavitch and produced by Morgan Prudhomme. The sound design is by Nicolas Peiron, and the visual design is by Christelle Perrin.
