Portfolio: Café des Artistes

Located in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Café des Artistes is recognized internationally as one of the world's finest restaurants. If you ever get the chance to dine there, I'm sure you'll agree that the person behind this operation, Chef Thierry Blouet, deserves all the awards and accolades that adorn his humble office. His smile is absolutely genuine. It's the smile of a man who has achieved more in ten years than most accomplish in a lifetime.

When Carolina Barrera, Thierry's assistant, approached me about the possibility of editing the CDA brochure, the dummy she showed me was little more than a sketch. She let me know that what they really needed was a 'total concept.’ The brochure would have to work for institutional clients (such as travel agencies) and visiting dignitaries (other chefs, mostly), as well as for guests who happened to ask for literature.

Four days later, I presented her with a CD-ROM containing my proposal for the CDA brochure.

The dummy includes photos I downloaded from the CDA web site and artwork from a collection of generic images. Again, my objective was not to present a design proposal so much as a general design framework.

One interesting note: everything, including the text, was built to scale (1:3). I wanted to be sure that the text would fit in the given format.

Front cover

First impression

Café des Artistes logo and slogan (“Creation Thierry Blouet”).

Inside front cover and title page

Welcome

Text: “AU PLAISIR DE VOUS RECEVOIR —Thierry Blouet”

Café des Artistes and Chef Blouet

Left side (bilingual)

English text: “Café des Artistes—rated one of the top restaurants in the World—is a Puerto Vallarta landmark that simply refuses to stand still. Maître Cuisinier de France and member of the French Academie Culinaire, Thierry Blouet has created a signature series of recipes that combine the freshest Mexican ingredients with an award-winning command of French culinary technique. ‘At Café des Artistes,’ writes Carlos Fuentes, ‘there is no dish that is not a work of art, nor a work of art that does not feed the spirit.’“

Spanish text: “A lo largo de sus 10 años, Café des Artistes se ha convertido en un emblema de Puerto Vallarta cuyo dinamismo y audacia le han otorgado un lugar privilegiado entre los mejores restaurantes del mundo. Maître Cuisinier de France y miembro de la Academie Culinaire, Thierry Blouet encabeza un movimiento revolucionario en el escenario gastronómico, así como una institución culinaria que ha producido chefs y empresarios de talla internacional. Su cocina combina los frescos y muy variados ingredientes de la cocina vernácula mexicana con la disciplina y rigor de la alta cocina francesa.”

Right page (Spanish)

Text: “En Café des Artistes no hay platillo que no sea una obra de arte, ni una obra de arte que no alimente el espíritu.” —Carlos Fuentes

French tradition, New World variety

Left side (Spanish)

Text:

totalmente romántico
completamente original

Right side (bilingual)

Text:

En Café des Artistes la tradición francesa se encuentra con la creatividad y variedad explosivas del Nuevo Mundo. Aquí, los aromas son como un buen jazz; los sabores, como una obra de Gauguin. Dueño y Maître Chef Thierry Blouet, heredero de una larga tradición hospitalaria, es originario de un concepto que desborda los marcos tradicionales.

an oasis

Café des Artistes is the setting where the great French tradition meets the explosive creativity and amazing variety of the New World. Think jazz. Think Gauguin in the Tropics. Now, erase all preconceived notions. Owner and Master Chef Thierry Blouet is redefining the idiom.

Services

Left side (bilingual)

Text:

At Café des Artistes, we believe in service, quality and constant innovation. We adapt to your needs, offering you an endless range of possibilities, always with a view to your complete satisfaction.

We do cocktail parties, wedding receptions, birthdays. We can provide banquet service in your home, yacht or office. Choose from a variety of menu options and Puerto Vallarta's most extensive wine list.

Logo sculptures (chocolate, butter, ice) are available on request.

Service supervised personally by Chef Thierry Blouet.

En Café des Artistes, creemos en la calidad y el servicio legendario. Esto implica para nosotros adaptarnos a sus necesidades, brindándole un sinnúmero de posibilidades y buscando siempre su entera satisfacción.

Somos especialistas en la organización de eventos, cocteles, servicio de banquetes a domicilio, fiestas tema, logotipos en hielo, chocolate o mantequilla, y eventos en yates y otros espacios, siempre bajo la supervisión del Chef Thierry Blouet.

Usted puede seleccionar un menú de acuerdo a su paladar o necesidad. Contamos con la más extensa carta de vinos en Puerto Vallarta.

Right side (English)

Text:

legendary service

Portrait of the artist

Inside back cover (Spanish)

Text:

creation

Thierry Blouet nació en 1964, hijo de padres franceses. Su abuelo, Max Blouet, fue un hotelero distinguido y miembro de la Resistencia francesa durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Educado en Francia y México, Thierry inició su carrera en 1983 en el Hotel Camino Real de Ixtapa, luego en el Camino Real del Distrito Federal —en el prestigioso Le Fouquets de Paris— donde fue nombrado Chef de Partie. En 1987 llegó a Puerto Vallarta para asumir el puesto de Chef Ejecutivo en La Perla, de la misma empresa. Fundó Café des Artistes en diciembre de 1990.

El arte de Thierry llega a los sentidos mediante un lenguaje plástico de colores, sabores, luz y presentación. Este don, que le permite intuir la interrelación precisa de elementos sensoriales, hace que la experiencia de Café des Artistes sea de gran impacto emotivo.

Inside back cover (English)

Thierry Blouet was born in 1964 to French parents. His grandfather, Max Blouet, was a distinguished hotelier and member of the French Resistance. Educated in France and Mexico, Chef Blouet's career began in 1983 at the Camino Real Hotel in Ixtapa, followed by the Camino Real restaurant in Mexico City—the prestigious Le Fouquets de Paris—where he was named Chef de Partie. In 1987 he came to Puerto Vallarta to work at Camino Real's La Perla as Executive Chef. He founded Café des Artistes in December 1990.

Thierry's art is one that communicates with the senses using a precise syntax of color, flavor, proper lighting and arrangement. This gift for intuitively sensing the appropriate interplay of sensory elements is what makes the Café des Artistes dining experience a sensual tour-de-force.

Among other awards, Thierry has received the title of Maître Cuisinier de France—a distinction shared by fewer than 350 chefs worldwide.

thierry blouet

Back cover

Back cover (bilingual)

Two-time winner of the prestigious Five-Star Diamond Award.

Maître Cuisinier de France, reconocimiento que distingue a los mejores chefs de Francia. A nivel mundial, sólo 330 chefs portan este título.

Experience award-winning dining at Café des Artistes:

Guadalupe Sánchez 740 · Puerto Vallarta · Jalisco · México
Tels: (3) 222-3228 · 222-3229 · 222-3230
E-mail: artistes@pvnet.com.MEXICO
On the web: www.cafedesartistes.com

Note: This page provides the company's vital statistics. Space is limited here, so I chose to write most of the text in English (for the company's primary market) but included a line just for Spanish readers. For CDA clients who happen to know or care about such things as the awards shown to the left of the text, the phrase Maître Cuisinier de France says it all. For the rest of us, the pictures of the medals are enough to impress, and the address, phone number, etc. are all we need to make a reservation.