The first woman “Best worker in France” butler comes to teach her art at the Jean-Moulin high school in Béziers

Customers of the Le Romanin training restaurant at the Jean-Moulin high school in Béziers were received, Thursday, February 29, by Véronique Vigne (center), the first Mof in France butler. ANTONIA JIMENEZ – ML

As part of his actions in favor of promoting gender equality, Étienne Chauvin, restaurant service teacher at the Béziers high school, invited the first Mof of France maître d'hôtel to accompany its 1st Bac pro hotel and catering students during the day of February 29. 

The menu for Thursday, February 29 at the Le Romanin training restaurant at the Jean-Moulin high school in Béziers had a taste of solemnity and great professionalism. It must be said that a "great lady" accompanied the 1re Bac pro hotel-catering students, in the kitchen or in the dining room, in chef's hats and aprons ;a perfect presentation: Véronique Vigne. Be the first woman "Best Worker in France" (Mof, promotion of 2004) in the category of Maitre d'hôtel, service and table arts, what's more, she is a Knight of the National Order of Merit. She currently teaches at the Jean Monnet vocational high school in Puy-en-Velay.

"Bringing to Jean-Moulin the excellence of the profession of maître d'

Invited by Étienne Chauvin, restaurant service professor and gender equality referent at the establishment, the "people of the day", with a rigor as exemplary as the generosity of his smile, was quick to advise, correct, encourage…  "The intervention of Véronique Vigne, whose primary goal is to bring excellence in the profession of maître d'to Jean -Moulin, falls within the framework of the actions that we are carrying out in favor of this equality", explained the teacher, who recently published his first work entitled: Hospitality education: equality between girls and boys, published by Editions de L'Harmattan in 2022. 

How to fight against stereotypes? How to implement the promotion of gender equality in classes ? This new generation teacher is inexhaustible on the subject, which he developed in his master's thesis. With him, the sexist cliché of 'the woman cooks, the man cooks' is over. that we hear, see, understand and show unfortunately still too often in this 21st century. The teacher, through his various actions such as the arrival of Véronique Vigne, unravels a little more every day this unacceptable discrimination against women, still anchored in French culture. "In the hotel and catering industry, we are still in the old models. Both boys and girls are still in these patterns… But things are starting to change with certain young chefs and maîtres d's. So I remain optimistic!"

Actions to come

Étienne Chauvin continues: "I am an equality referent. I regularly organize interventions by personalities or activist associations with students. This month, International Women's Day on March 8 obliges,  and as part of the Region's system called "Generation Equality", "two-hour sessions on equality will be set up for all students.& quot;

He will be accompanied, in September, by Véronique Vigne, also very sensitive to this subject, witness, throughout her journey and experience, of this great sexism of which she was also a victim. She will offer Jean-Moulin training for catering or general education teachers working with catering students.

Because, beyond the professional sector in question, inequalities between girls and boys persist. The principal, Pierre Fournier, assures him: "Here, as everywhere in France, girls continue to choose science majors less than boys, while' they have better results. Their orientation strategies are more modest. In addition, we have sectors where there are almost only boys, such as STI2D, industrial sciences and technologies and sustainable development, or only girls, such as ST2S, health and social . We are therefore working at the level of the entire establishment on the subject."

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