From the Crêperie de la Comédie to the boxes of the African Cup of Nations, the atypical journey of Montpellier Cédric Khalkhal

Cédric Khalkhal gère les espaces restauration VIP comme grand public.

In Montpellier, he is notably the owner of the Crêperie de la Comédie and the bistro Chez Gilles and the president of the Stade Montpelliérain rugby club. Except that he currently manages the backstage of the African Football Cup, in Ivory Coast, in charge of catering. Meeting. 

Cédric Khalkhal remembers very well this phone call, two years ago, when the general director of Vivendi sports called him to collaborate on the Coupe d'39. ;Africa of Nations 2024, in Ivory Coast. The manager was looking for catering-accommodation profiles. "It worked", confides the Montpellier resident.

The refreshment bars and brasserie at the rugby stadium

Cédric Khalkhal knows catering by heart. He, who notably owns the Crêperie de la Comedie or the Chez Gilles café, Place Saint-Côme, is a professional in the sector. The link with sport comes from rugby : "I took care of the MHR refreshments for seven years and it was I who opened the stadium brasserie. Sport is a small circle, we were in contact with the DNACG for example(National Directorate for Aid and Management Control)." He loves sport and business, he is also the president of the amateur rugby club which started up not so long ago, the Stade Montpelliérain. ;nbsp;

Basile Boli, Samuel Eto'o, Didier Drogba… His mission allowed him to meet some nice people. Free Midday

So Cédric Khalkhal started."At the beginning, I acted as an expert catering advisor, I advised the project managers, put together the specifications. And then over time, I became more and more operational." To the point of supporting and supervising service providers, caterers in setting up menus , adapt them to VIP or general public spaces. 

Heads of state, an American minister

"Not all service providers have the capacity to face this type of international event, with the criteria and requirements of Fifa. In Africa for example, it is hot, you have to be very careful about the cold chain, you also have to offer local and international cuisine on the buffets. In VIP, in boxes, we serve heads of state, Presidents of the Republic, ministers. We notably received Antony Blinken, the American Minister of Foreign Affairs. We served him a French dish: beef cheek." Anthony Blinken but also Basile Boli, Hervé Renard, Samuel Eto'o or Didier Drogba, football fans will appreciate.

"I'm enjoying it"

"I followed the organization of 22 matches in two weeks, so I don't have much time to see the matches, but I enjoy it, he smiles. This week, for example, there were no matches before the quarter-finals. So from Monday, I made sure that the production teams started to produce, I organized the seating plan, the schedule, the timing… ;quot;

For VIPs, buffets and sit-down meals, depending on the time of day. Free Midday

The end of the competition is looming, Cédric Khalkahl will return to Montpellier a few days after the final, which will be played on Sunday February 11. And he doesn't hide that he enjoyed the experience. After all, like he said, "it's a small circle". Enough to give him ideas: "I was asked to participate in the Paris Olympics but I declined. On the other hand, in 2025, there is the next CAN in Morocco, followed by the World Cup… You have your head in the handlebars but you are experiencing exceptional moments!"

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