Romain Arnaud
Catering & Service Director

Setting the party stage of such high-society figures as Donald Trump and Prince Albert of Monaco to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jay-Z, Romain Arnaud springs from a sweet hospitality history to don the sophisticated cocktail and dinatoire soirees of Tastings by Payard.

He has served Former President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing and he personally organized the official visit of President Jacques Chirac to New York the first week after 9/11 in collaboration with the Elysée Protocol Services, the French Special Services and the FBI. He has bestowed numerous French Decorations to important recipients such as; Paul Bocuse, Tim Zagat, Oscar de la Renta and Norman Mailer.

Born in St. Etienne in the Loire region of France, and growing up in Morocco and Côte d’Ivoire, Romain fell in love with the industry as his father, architect/decorator, helped shape the renaissance of La Mamounia, Marrakech during the summer of 1986. At home, the aromas from his Mother’s kitchen of Roasted Pork with Mustard and Gateau au Lait laid the foundation for his interest in the art of cooking and service, as he was responsible each evening for setting the table in a distinctive fashion.

While the tagines and spice markets of North Africa whet his pallet, his roots summoned him back to France where, in 1998, he graduated in the top five of his class in hospitality and catering at the prestigious Vatel Institute of Paris.

Among his stops in Morocco and Paris, he also worked at Beaulieu sur Mer’s La Réserve de Beaulieu (2** Michelin), Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel restaurant, N°27 the Green (rated best restaurant of Dublin) and esteemed caterers such as Lutetia (Taittinger Group), Fauchon, Lenôtre and Passion Traiteur. His travels eventually led him to America in the position of Maître d’Hôtel and Assistant to the Culinary Attaché at the Consulate General of France in New York, where he coordinated all official Consul Events and welcomed world renowned leaders.