#5
Pioneer of time,
sower of emotions
I often find myself picturing the places where you might be reading this newsletter. And during the height of summer holidays, that image takes on a whole new atmosphere…
The truth is, I’m not someone who takes holidays for the sake of holidays. The idea of spending a week on a sunbed with a few scheduled excursions doesn’t quite resonate with me. Over the years, I’ve grown used to blending work and personal time, switching between roles with ease. I don’t mind having to meet people or explore ideas that might later become useful—quite the opposite.These days, I see holidays in two ways: either they offer the promise of deep personal enrichment, or they draw me back to cherished memories of childhood, to places like Cap Ferret, where I return with my family.
Since the beginning of the 700’000 Heures journey, my understanding of time and place has shifted. I’ve stayed for months—five, sometimes eight—in the same destination. And I’ve come to realise just how much we miss when we only stay somewhere for a few days. That intensity of connection is something I now want to pass on to our guests.
In hospitality, we hold a great responsibility. When travellers entrust us with their precious time off, we must honour it. At Dar Ahlam, and across our 700’000 Heures Impact projects, our entire team works toward one goal: to imagine how we can bring more joy to our guests’ lives and to take tangible steps to make that happen.
Because we only have so many summers in a lifetime, let us treasure them.
Warmly,
Thierry
The person I want to introduce you to this month simply doesn’t know how to say no. He’s a true ambassador of the “why not”, always up for a creative experiment. That spirit of “why not” is what can turn something improbable into something extraordinary. It’s not just a whimsical quirk—it’s a philosophy, a momentum, a daring refusal to stick to the script.
This master distiller’s name is Alex Davies. We first met in Japan during the pandemic through his partner Rachel, a journalist. I invited her to Ine Bay, where I was hosting guests for a 700’000 Heures season, and they came together. At the time, Alex was heading up Ki No Bi Distillery, and has since taken on projects in India and Amsterdam. We recently reconnected, and I felt an urge to collaborate.
Cocktails aren’t exactly our strong point in Morocco. Most of our team doesn’t drink alcohol, so we knew we had to create something truly original for our guests. Alex arrived with a miniature still, then wandered through our garden collecting leaves and flowers—geranium, bitter orange, rose, fig leaf… He began distilling, crafting a unique blend for the Maison des Rêves, and creating two digestifs: a Moroccan Mintini and a local take on amlou (the delicious almond, honey and argan paste). He’s fearless in his creativity and the results are beautiful. And I’ve just had another idea… More on that soon.
When it comes to restaurants, I rarely follow rankings or Michelin stars. I prefer recommendations from people who’ve had an emotional connection to a place. Last year, while preparing our season in Tarapoto, I spent time in Lima. Of course, I visited Central, MIL, and Maido—but they didn’t quite move me.
Instead, some friends suggested I meet Juan Luis Martinez, a young Venezuelan chef with a charming little table, a coffee shop and a fine-dining space called Merito. I introduced him to our 700’000 Heures Impact honey project, promoting Melipona honey from tiny stingless bees. He invited me to try his food and I was utterly blown away. The technique was entirely in service of the product, and many ingredients were completely new to me. Not a single dish was less impressive than the next. The meal was powerful, surprising, deeply flavourful. I’d fly back to Peru just to dine there again.
For the past 50 years, the travel industry followed a strict structure. Not anymore. Travel agencies are opening their own properties, hoteliers are curating experiences around their locations (once the agent’s domain), travellers are following influencers on cruises or cross-country rail trips… The possibilities have never been more open. And this shift inspired me to launch a new concept: Nomadic Pulse. These are journeys where I invite you to explore a culture through my own lens, through the filter of hospitality.
I’ve noticed several chefs moving in a similar direction. Virgilio Martinez (of Central and MIL) has launched a travel agency to curate stays in Peru through his own perspective. Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen (whom I mentioned in TOMO issue 3) now takes guests to Morocco and Italy, promising 100 flavours in a week. It’s fascinating to see people outside of traditional travel roles bringing fresh vision. It raises deeper questions: What is the value of intermediaries? And more importantly: why do we travel at all?
I’ve always loved pressing flowers and collecting plants during my walks, so creating dried flower workshops in our greenhouse at Dar Ahlam felt very natural. The challenge? Dried flowers require time—picking, pressing, waiting. Guests only staying two nights wouldn’t be able to take their creations home. So I thought of something more immediate: cyanotypes, the poetic ancestors of photography. This technique plays with the photosensitivity of plants. All it requires is sunlight, water and iron. We’ve just finished training our team with Pauline Rühl Saur, a wonderful multidisciplinary artist. A professional photographer, Pauline missed working with physical materials after the digital shift. She discovered cyanotype and has been exploring its creative possibilities ever since. I can’t wait for our first workshops with guests.
I secretly wish Perla Servan-Schreiber would adopt me. That she might become my grandmother. I deeply admire her—her worldview, her writing, her sense of generosity and delight in life. Every time we meet, I feel energised by her joy of living. I could recommend all her books, especially her 77 Life Lessons. For summer, though, I especially love her recipes for shared feasts—the kind you make when friends drop by unannounced, and an apéro turns into dinner. She has a magical way of creating unforgettable dishes with next to nothing. Clever, generous, and delicious.
All the recipes she contributed to Dar Ahlam have become essential: her chickpea stew, her date tapenade, the Iranian-style herb fritters, the almond macarons we serve with roasted fruits… I’m so lucky to know her, and I hope we keep laughing together for years to come.
When I think of summer, I think of crossing the dunes with dry lips, and the scents of salt, pine needles and burnt wood. I was born in February and spent my first summer in Cap Ferret. It’s the place of my childhood—and now my children’s and grandchildren’s too.
Here are three of my favourite places around the Bassin d’Arcachon, among the most beautiful corners of the world.
> La Maison du Bassin. Cap Ferret’s very first boutique hotel quickly became my secret hideaway. I still spend off-season nights there to enjoy the blooming mimosas. It feels like a fisherman’s cabin—but with sea grass flooring and antique furniture. In summer, I love an apéro at Le Tchanqué (and a sip of their infused rums) before dinner.
> L’Hôtel de la Plage. In the oyster-farming village of L’Herbe, this hotel has been sublimely renovated, preserving the exact façade I remember from childhood. I used to run here in the scorching sun whenever my mother forgot something from the market. That memory has stayed with me.
> Les Maisons Marines d’Huchet. Tucked away on the Landes coast, this house defines the charm of old-fashioned holidays. A wooden gate opens onto a sandy path through the dunes to the beach. Add to that picnic baskets by Maison Guérard and dinners on the terrace facing the ocean—pure bliss.
To follow everything happening around my projects:
> A conversation with The New Siècle magazine, exploring the unique challenges of creating a hospitality model based on impermanence, and what it means to embrace nomadism in a market driven by permanence.
> A gathering during PURE in Marrakech, on Monday 8 September. In a former Almohad-era reservoir, a secret location in the heart of the medina, I’ll be bringing together journalists, hoteliers and industry insiders for a preview of my upcoming projects…