She is the co-founder and Director of L’Opéra, the most prominent French Bakery and Pastry operation in India.
Christine was born to an artist mother and an academician father. She has a Ph.D. in Social Psychology and a MA of Anthropology and Sociology. She is married and has two children and two grandchildren.Christine has served the society in a variety of capacities over the last thirty years. Prominently from 1988 until 2008 as the Head of the European and Francophone Branch of the Bahá’í International Community’s Office of Public Information, in Paris.Christine has travelled extensively, given numerous talks and lectures and participated in many radio, television, and press interviews.In 2008, Christine and her family moved to New-Delhi India where she started a new career as an entrepreneur and social activist. In 1994, Christine was elevated by the French Government to the rank of “Knight” in the prestigious “National Order of Merit”.
1)How would you best describe yourself in 50 words?
A modern, progressive and passionate woman, happy with my life and not wishing or desiring to emulate or compete with men. I believe in true gender equality and complementary roles of men and women at home and in society. I consider women as true agents of changethrough the education they dispense to their children and through their unique contribution to the public life. I love beauty, harmony, arts and classical music and believe in the good, which is in each human being and in the oneness of mankind.
2) Tell us what the journey has been like for you so far as an Iranian-French woman in India.
The journey has been very fulfilling; since I moved here back in 2008, about 9 years ago, I have felt welcomed in India and have taken a great liking to Indian culture, traditions and hospitality. As a trained sociologist and anthropologist, I have always loved to discover new cultures, new civilizations and most of all new peoples. Obviously, there are differences between our life in Paris and the one in Delhi but with support from family and friends I have been able to adapt and feel at home very rapidly. I believe, moreover, that my Western and Eastern backgrounds have enriched my experience in India, as I always try to view realities here from a global perspective. After all, I believe, as a Baha’i, that the world is but one country and mankind its citizens. In this sense, India has further helped me to foster this view. I would also say that my profound involvement in my family business, namely L’Opéra, has been a great opportunity to affirm and rediscover my appreciation for French culinary culture.
3) Your biggest achievement?
I would like to reframe the question and say biggest achievement so far since I have not yet given up on what may come and happen in the future…As surprising as it may sound, I consider my biggest achievement not in what I have done so far but rather in how I did it. It gives me great satisfaction to know that I managed to have a well-balanced and harmonious life without any major conflicts. I was lucky to obtain an excellent education, be a good daughter, loving mother and wife, have a fulfilled professional life for decades in the service of society and finally become an entrepreneur and businesswoman without ever going into extremes and having to sacrificeany of my tasks and responsibilities in favour of the other.
4) What do you love the most about your work?
All along my professional career, and actually in all my life I was always attracted to and inspired by people, particularly if they came from other cultures and traditions. From the early days of my childhood, I also had the desire to build and create something new, simply to become and entrepreneur. It is interesting that this opportunity finally presented itself to me with L’Opéra where I could realise my childhood dreams and combine my love for aesthetics, with that of people and create something which did not only satisfy my own aspirations, but which also brings joy, happiness and satisfaction to hundreds and thousands of people every day. What makes this undertaking even more precious is that I can engage in what I love together with my closest family members namely my son and my husband.
5) How do you balance home and work?
This is indeed an ongoing challenge for every woman and mother who wants to do everything right. First, you need to set your prioritiesstraight and thensecure the necessary help from all available sources, such as family or other, which is required to accomplish all the objectives and tasks you have set for yourself.Subsequently, you need to practice discipline and a good dose of organisation. And finally, as you can imagine this can only work well if you enjoy a true partnership with your spouse and can count on reciprocal love, understanding, support and respect.
6) What do you find to be the most challenging part of being women in hospitality industry.
The challenges of being a woman in the hospitality industry are not more than just being a woman in any industry. Incidentally, I find women have a number of innate advantages, which actually help them in the hospitality industry. It is not actually the fact of being a man or woman, which is important. It is the fact that as a woman, you are not only a businessperson, but you are also a mother and often a spouse with the associated expectations. As a (business) man, you are expected to be successful in your professional activities and spend some time with the family. However, as a woman and mother you are expected to bear children, raise and educate them, take care of the household, unite the (extended) family and be a spouse. In most cases, your entrepreneurial activities come on top of these, which are considered as granted. Obviously, once you have mastered all this and have managed to engage in the hospitality industry you can use such skills as time management, organisation, warmth, caring and more professionally to your benefit and to that of your customers.
I have a great passion for music, art and beauty. I think there is something profoundly spiritual about beauty; seeing something beautiful or hearing a piece of classical music uplifts the soul, oftentimes more so than words, in that it is a universal language, a force that touches hearts despite language, cultural or religious barriers. Or even the barrier of life itself. In fact, my late mother was an artist; a painter and many of her artworks decorate my home. Time and again I feel that I interact with her via her paintings that she lives on through them. In the end, doesn’t beauty express – whether it is in the form of painting, music or other means – ideas, emotions and ways of interpreting realities around us that go to the very essence of what makes us human, namely connection.
8) What advice would you share with women who are at the start of their hospitality careers and aspire to reach a senior position?
Aspiring to reach a senior position or earning large incomes is not the right motivation and aspiration, neither in the hospitality industry nor in any other pursuit. Engaging in the hospitality industry must be your passion and what you want to do in life. You should only follow this line of activity if you are enamoured with it. If you like people and interacting with them, if you like to bring joy and happiness to others, if you love beauty and aesthetics… My advice would be to strive for excellence and perfection in your activities and endeavours. Do the right thing, persevere, never compromise, be patient and the success will come naturally as a result and consequence of your hard work.