Amélie Vincent

Brussels, Belgium & Paris, France
The Foodalist; The Food Resistance

Instagram: @thefoodalist @thefoodresistance

*Changemakers is a Cross Cultures series spotlighting inspiring women who are creating and doing in the F&B ecosystem; eading the way and helping better the world.

Born in Brussels to a Belgian father and Vietnamese mother, Amélie Vincent was raised in between Europe and Asia. A former lawyer, she left her career 10 years ago to pursue a career in one of her biggest passions– food. Today, she is best known as The Foodalist– her platform– food writer, consultant and influencer. She is also a Tastehunter for the World’s 50 Best Restaurants and Bars, and authored “150 Restaurants You Need To Visit Before You Die,” published by Lanoo. In the light of COVIID-19, she started The Food Resistance– “ a solidarity project created with chefs and small local producers acting as one against COVID, to support the medical corps (frontliners), and people in need through food and purpose.”

Tell us about you. Where were you born, raised, and what you are making or doing at present?

I was born in Brussels. I was raised multi-culturally, between Belgian roots and a Vietnamese family, from Asia to Paris and the Belgian seaside. My mother was from the royal family in Vietnam, she left during the war, then she met my father and they went to live in the US (New York and Los Angeles), then they got back here and I was born.

I also grew up travelling the world with curious parents. And the minute we were stepping out of a plane from Australia to Brazil, our game was the same: to taste local food, and pick up on the menu something we had never tried before.

I believe these aspects of my childhood led me to become a food journalist. Today, I am writing about international gastronomy, and I share my journey on the social media. I specialize in positive impact initiatives and sustainability.

How did you end up working at your present career? How long have you been doing this/ When did you start?

I used to be a lawyer with two master degrees in Commercial Law and Intellectual Property Law. I studied in Brussels, and specialized at Panthéon-Assas in University of Paris and New York University. I left the lawyer career about 10 years ago to dive into the food industry. Food had always been my passion– with two grand mothers cooking literally all day, and as I said earlier, exploring the world with my parents, who took me also very early to fine dining restaurants.

I used to study and live abroad in 3 different continents, and the human connections, life, and emotions, I could feel out of every single kitchen anywhere was a way I could feel connected and home. Today, I am a food writer, consultant and influencer called “The Foodalist.” I have my own platform.

Facing COVID-19 crisis, I have created a movement “The Food Resistance” to help people during these times through food. We’ve been for two months feeding the hospitals in Belgium, and we are now feeding people in need, with the chefs.

What was the biggest challenge you have faced?

The biggest challenge was first to get back to a positive energy, and find a way for every part of the food chain to survive economically.

How/ what did you do to get over it?

I have been processing long about how to support local producers, in these times when supermarkets were empty, and smaller productions were struggling to adapt, losing the restaurants market.

So my idea of The Food Resistance is to feed people in needs but also to keep on supporting economically the producers through the actions of the chefs.

Every week, the chefs are selling baskets of produce of the farmers and use a percentage (about 10 %) of this income to prepare meals for people in needs in his region. So at the end, for each basket bought by a client, 1 meal is offered by the chef, featuring the same quality of ingredients coming from his producers.

What is the best advice you can give to anyone wanting to get into or excel in your field?

I don’t think I could say how to excel to anyone 😉 Only if I can share one of my beliefs in general is that we need to trust our intuition and stick to our values, no matter what. this is the most precious tools we have, to make our choices in life.

What is your favorite thing about your culture or living in your city?

Brussels has a soul, it’s like an old lady with authenticity and reality. She is not pretentious and she is plenty of contrasts. I love its old part of the city in Les Marolles. During the weekend, I love to walk around the flea market Rue Blaes and be immersed the simple life of real people. Have a beer, some mussels, and listen to the talks of natives.

The other part of our culture I love is the seaside and its natural wilderness. Walking in the dunes, watching the shrimp fishermen on the beach and eat croquettes aux crevettes and waffles with the hands.

How did you spend your days during this COVID-19 quarantine period?

I have been launching The Food Resistance and I must say it was a big job. First to get in touch with chefs – then to find an efficient way to organize the structure. defining the needs- supporting the whole circle-and helping by organizing the logistics and deliveries… So it was a full time job.

Please tell us about The Food Resistance, and how readers can take part of it.

It is an action that is based on solidarity: Chefs are supporting small producers by ordering their food, and making either baskets or take away dishes out of it.

For each basket bought by a client, 1 meal is offered by the chef, featuring the same quality of ingredients from his producers. Then a few times a week we are making food to feed people in needs in this very difficult times. First we focused ourselves on hospital corps, then on homeless people. Now it is extended to people in need, as we could see you can still have a roof, but being in precarity in terms of feeding yourself and your family at the end of the month. You can reach The Food Resistance at @foodresistance on Instagram