About Us
It takes vision and commitment to create something from nothing, but when you are only using the best ingredients that Mother Nature has to offer it is bound to turn out divine.
When Alain Coumont and Gilles Valeriani decided to create bioghetto.com in 2005, it was the mixing of two artist’s passions to create something special. Alain had developed a way of life through organic cooking and Gilles had a passion for grapes and the Terroir.
Alain Coumont, Partner and Director of bioghetto.com
Born in a small town in Belgium, this classically trained chef and author of several cookbooks founded the high-end bakery/café brand “Le Pain Quotidien” in Brussels in the early 90’s. Due to his passion for wine and food, this artist (to see him in the kitchen is pure joy) grew Le Pain Quotidien into a truly global brand that is now considered the first organic restaurant chain of its kind in the world.
After spending ten years in the United States, Alain decided to leave New York to settle down in the Languedoc region of the South of France. He spends most of his time today discovering new products and developing bioghetto.com. When not in the Languedoc, Alain divides his time among the Big Apple, Los Angeles, London, Beirut, Kuwait City, numerous other international destinations.
Of the ingredients on the menu at the Le Pain Quotidien restaurants, 85% are now organic. It is therefore quite natural to understand that this defender of high quality and taste is committed to the promotion and creation of delicious and quality organic wines.
In 2003, the New York Times quoted Alain saying,” This is not a gimmick, some marketing ploy; it’s (organic food) something I believe in. I eat organic as much as possible, so why not serve the same things to our customers?” He later added that to go organic in business is ‘‘a big decision, and now that I’ve made it I do not want to compromise. I’m making a political and social statement because I see farms going out of business and water you can’t drink because it’s polluted from farms that use too much pesticides.”
alain@bioghetto.com
http://www.painquotidien.com/
Gilles Valeriani, Partner and director of Bioghetto.com
Born of Italian parents in the French Ardennes, not far from the Belgian border, Gilles Valeriani spent almost 20 years living in Paris, where after studying international business, he held different jobs in communications and the music industry.
Gilles has been part of the Internet industry since 1997 when he worked first as a writer and then as an e-business project manager at a communications agency. Fascinated by wine and a love for languages, Gilles decided to study oenology and wine tasting in Burgundy. After completing his studies, he settled in Languedoc region of France where he became an export manager in the wine business.
Given his rich background, he quickly understood that it is necessary to be innovative and apply new methods in marketing to the wine industry. He and Alain met in 2004 at a wine tasting for the Hachette Guide. A year later, together they founded bioghetto.com.
gilles@bioghetto.com
