1930, La Corniche
La Corniche is inextricably linked to the vision of an exceptional entrepreneur: Louis Gaume.
When Louis Gaume, who was from Auvergne but had adopted Arcachon, returned from the war, he took the opportunity of the need to develop the town beyond the 800 hectares of its area. In 1920, he founded his own construction company. Then, encouraged by the success of Pyla-sur-Mer, a resort founded by Daniel Meller, he became the developer of Pilat-Plage, a new district built on the living dune, the ideal extension of a town into nature.
Gaume created La Corniche, a mythical place that evokes the golden age and the invention of the Côte d’Argent, a hunting lodge from the 1930s at the heart of a preserved site, where the aristocracy and the upper classes had a Neo-Basque house built sheltered from pine trees, having been attracted by the air quality, the magic of the site and the trend for bathing in the sea.
La Corniche is a place with an extraordinary address. A figurehead of the Pilat-Plage district, a look-out post towards the Bassin d’Arcachon, backing onto the highest dune in Europe, it is suspended between the sky and the sea, and tied up between sand and pine forest.
2010, La Co(o)rniche
“A place that is the strongest, most beautiful, most charming, most surreal, most powerful aspect of nature”.
These few words are what Philippe Starck used to sum up the astonishing sight that can be seen from site of La Co(o)rniche.
William Techoueyres, the new guardian of the place, gave La Co(o)rniche a new lease of life and, and worked with Philippe Starck’s to awaken the sleeping beauty.
The authenticity of the Basque house has been integrated into the spirit of an oyster shed open to the panorama, and the desire of the two men to preserve the history of this place unlike any other in the world.
“La Co(o)rniche stems from a landscape meeting nature beyond the spectacular, an old house that is the very symbol of the region and a unit of life embodied by William Techoueyres.” Ph. Starck
For La Co(o)rniche, Philippe Starck moves away from his usual luxury codes.
The hotel, restaurant, terrace and bar are redesigned in fundamental, familiar luxury.
Like a lively village square, La Co(o)rniche is dedicated to those who love the Bassin. They are invited to a cosy, discreet and never-ending party here, where they can enjoy moments that suit what they feel like doing.
The teams
William Techoueyres
Philippe Starck describes him as a “a unit of life” and attributes “all the elegance of a bellowing burst of laughter” to him.
William Techoueyres impresses as much due to his stature as a former rugby player as his clear, uncompromising generosity. As a former international rugby player in the French national rugby team, and for Bègles in the first division, he has tackled his sporting career at the highest level, as well as that of restaurateur, which he continues today.
Admiring Starck’s work, but above all getting along well with the man as soon as they met, William gave the designer carte blanche to bring La Co(o)rniche to life.
When the establishment opened in May 2010, 45 loyal employees were by his side to accommodate guests that he wanted to be a happy mix of locals and tourists, young and old, ocean lovers or those who love to party, and provide simple but efficient and above all perpetually attentive service.
Thanks to his determination, charisma and team spirit, he is now the head of a team of 250 employees for this establishment alone, who pay great attention to the resolutely eclectic guests they receive every day!
Thomas Techoueyres
After studying at the Ferrandi cookery school, and the various positions he went onto occupy working for top level chefs (Alain Ducasse, Hélène Darroze, Michel Roth and Jean-François Girardin among others), and a few years at the head of the restaurants at the Ha(a)ïtza hotel, Thomas Techoueyres took over at La Co(o)rniche in 2021.
Thomas Techoueyres’ father taught him the importance of team spirit, and he manages his teams with openness and, together with Alexia, his wife who manages the hotel’s reception, shows his guests a warm welcome all while making sure that this wonderful place exudes understated, stylish luxury each day.
Christophe Beaupuy, the chef
Loyal to William Téchoueyres for over 18 years, Christophe Beaupuy is the executive chef at La Co(o)rniche.
Although he is discreet and reserved by nature, he leads a 45-person team masterfully and, in William Techoueyres’ eyes, represents one of the indispensable pillars of the establishment’s success.
Christophe is very involved in and attached to the house’s values, passing on his knowledge and enjoyment of cooking quality dishes to his teams every day, with great attention.
With his right-hand men, Julien Chassaud and Julien Descotte, he treats La Co(o)rniche’s guests every year to a tasty menu of seafood, starters, meat and fish, which varies according to the seasons.
The delectable desserts are created by pastry chefs Pierre Guidini and Florian Mongay.
And everyone in the team
Pauline, Audrey, Jessy, Alain, Pierre, Nicolas, Christophe, Germain, Romain, Cathy, Ismail, Gabin, Cédric, Didier, Yoann, Jade, Omar, Florence, Sacha, Alexandre, Bruno, Dylan, Julien, Lucas, Jordan, Hugo, Filomena, Carlos, Chloé, Eric, Julien, Emmanuel, Emmanuel Conrad Célestin, Christophe, Julien, Alexandre, Sébastien, Mélany, Leonardo, Akram, Margaux, Bernard, Guilhem, Charline, Pierre, Yohan, Thibault, Konstantin, Quentin, Patrice, Glenn, Cynthia, Alexandre, Robin, Sarah, Stéphanie, Laurent, Raphael, Laurent, Victor, Soumounthy, Alexane, Juan Miguel, José, Lucas, Alexia, Margaux, Paul, Thibault, Guillaume, Joseph, Yaël, Birame, Elodie, Nithin Reddy, Axel, Alice, Quentin, Philippe, Mathias, Kévin, Julien, Nishanth Reddy, Pascal, Shivam, Christophe, Marlène, Kilian, Manon, Hugo, Manas Kumar, Samba, Chloé, Vincent, Marius, Fabien, Fabrice, Julie, Fabien et Loïc.
