The cloth burns between chef Thierry Marx, boss of restaurateurs, and some of his peers who accuse him of conflicts of interest

A dessert developed with Hénaff for TGVs, kitchen videos and pro pots offered exclusively by Lidl, a collaboration with Picard to convince that you can “eat healthy, with a small budget and shortly” … The famous starred chef Thierry Marx is everywhere. And that doesn’t appeal to everyone …

“He can promote ham or cars … but not by being at the head of the UMIH (Union of the hotel and restaurant professions” creaks Adrien Pedrazzi, president of the body in Lot-et-Garonne. “Well That these commitments were concluded in its own name, they blur the message while we fight to fill the restaurants which are in suffering ”deplores the chef Agenais.

“Frozen ambassador”

In an internal letter, he wonders: “How can the UMIH denounce unfair competition in large distribution when its own president values ​​these same brands in national campaigns? And how can we defend culinary art, when our confederate president becomes the frozen ambassador? »»

“Legitimate questions” abounds another local UMIH president. “The supermarkets, including Picard, install microwaves to warm frozen dishes, without obligation to have toilets, the same hygiene standards or the staff of a restaurant, yes we can talk about unfair competition” insists this Last, who prefers to remain anonymous for fear of sanctions.

“Everyone has taken cash”

The case could have stopped there if the mail, sent internally, had not leaked … and that Thierry Marx had not left his hinges. “Pedrazzi I’m going to do it,” he said in the boiling podcast, before accusing. “Everyone has taken over. I have enough files to explode the union. Shit in a fan works. »»

Reviews, judged “intolerable” by Adrien Pedrazzi who hopes that the “Management Board will take sanctions”, for which Thierry Marx apologized in a letter. “I reacted as an injured man, unjustly accused who was trapped by a journalist. »»

“Our motto All umih, all united took a hit “regrets Lionel Imirizaldu, restaurateur and president of the UMIH 64.” I devote 20 hours per week voluntarily to the UMIH. To say that we have diverted money disappoints me, points out the Basque. Worse, we lose our credibility at a time when the profession is in crisis. Each day, there are 23 balance sheets in France in the hotel and restaurant. »»

Contacted, the UMIH said that Thierry Marx would not be expressed but that a supervisory board would soon answer questions from Adrien Pedrazzi. In the podcast, Thierry Marx had assured: “None of my contracts prevents me from speaking for the UMIH or defending the interests of the members. »Case to follow …