Chef Gilbert Riffault turns in his apron

Riffault’s adventure at EPFL began last century. “I applied to Le Copernic, which was looking for a couple of restaurant managers. 70 people applied. I made the short list of three, then two – but in the end they chose the other guy. However, I’d established a good relationship with EPFL and a few months later they offered me the job to manage Le Parmentier, and that’s how I started.”

It was 29 years ago when Riffault, originally from Brittany, took the reins of Le Parmentier-Vinci. Shortly afterwards he was appointed to head L’Esplanade, then L’Atlantide. He took early retirement on 31 December 2020, at 62 years of age, although this was not a snap decision: “I’d already made up my mind to leave before COVID,” he says.

Why did he choose to retire early? “After nearly 30 years, I’d lost some of my enthusiasm.” Part of that was due to the pandemic; revenues at the restaurants fell 66% in 2020 and the catering service ground to a halt. He also didn’t feel that EPFL’s shift to more sustainable menus was a good fit for him. “In my experience, the requirement to offer 50% vegetarian dishes isn’t aligned with the market. It’s closer to around 30% of customers who prefer meatless meals,” he explains.

Food trucks and US-style lunches

That said, the chef leaves EPFL with a heavy heart and fond memories. “I loved working there – the people I met, the hours in the kitchen and the time I invested.” He could often be found on campus on Sunday afternoons, getting things ready for the week ahead. He saw four different EPFL presidents go by and watched the campus grow from a village to small city. “There were only three restaurants here when I first started. And you were only allowed to eat restaurant food – no outside food, no takeout, and especially no food trucks,” he said in 2019, as part of the festivities to mark EPFL’s 50th anniversary as a federal institution.

Riffault also saw EPFL management lunches evolve from restaurant meals to working lunches held directly in meeting rooms. “When Bernard Vittoz and Jean-Claude Badoux were president, the management team would have lunch together in one of our restaurants. But that changed completely under Patrick Aebischer, who introduced US-style working lunches. Since then they’ve become standard practice – and not just among the management team. We deliver lunches all over campus.” That, of course, was before COVID.

He’s a good manager who enjoys a great meal. “For years I invited my team to a big Christmas meal,” he recalls. As an epicurean and bon vivant who enjoys being around people, he was especially sad when the campus restaurants closed. But he plans to enjoy his retirement. “For now I’m taking a year off. I don’t want to pressure myself into anything right away.” The chef lives in Saint Sulpice and spends half the week unwinding at his chalet in Zermatt. “I feel more in touch with the German-speaking part of the country than the French-speaking part,” he says. Riffault moved to Switzerland in 1978 and hasn’t left since, eventually obtaining Swiss citizenship.

Dishes for all tastes at the FoodLab

The four restaurants that Riffault managed will now be run by SV Group, the company that won the catering division’s request for proposals. No jobs will be lost; rather, SV Group intends to bring Le Parmentier, Vinci and L’Atlantide together into a single restaurant: the FoodLab. Le Parmentier will become Alpine, offering traditional meals made from local products; Vinci will become Native, a vegetarian and vegan restaurant; and L’Atlantide will become Ginko, serving Asian dishes and sushi with a show-cooking area.

The campus’ hallmark cafeteria, L’Esplanade, will be equipped with new self-service stations: Al Forno, offering tasty oven-baked dishes; Pasta Time, serving a selection of freshly cooked pasta; and Pick Up Here, a takeout specialist. Alpine and L’Esplanade opened on 11 January 2021; the two other restaurants are still closed because of the pandemic.