Jean-Luc Naret is a French hotelier specialized in luxury hospitality. He was previously

Directeur Général A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

of the

Michelin Guide The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few restaurants ...

, a famous annual publication featuring a three-star rating of international

gourmet Gourmet (, ) is a cultural idea associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterized by their high level of refined and elaborate food preparation techniques and displays of balanced meals that have ...

restaurants A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in app ...

. He managed many luxury hotels worldwide and used to be CEO of La Reserve Hotels in Europe. He founded his consultancy in 2019.

Biography

Naret was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France, in 1961. He studied hospitality at Ecole Hoteliere Jean Drouant (Paris) from 1976 to 1979. At the age of 21, he started working in the

Venice Simplon Orient Express The ''Venice Simplon-Orient-Express'' (VSOE) is a private luxury train service from London to Venice and other European cities. It is currently owned by Belmond. These VSOE services are not to be confused with a regularly scheduled train cal ...

and soon became Train manager. In the following years, he took on further responsibilities in the hotel business, from manager to managing director and CEO of hotels and palaces such as:

Hôtel Le Bristol Paris Le Bristol Paris is a five-star hotel located at 112 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris, France. It opened in 1925 and is famous for its historic architecture. The hotel is part of the Oetker Collection, Masterpiece Hotels, which is owned b ...

, the Sandy Lane in

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

, the Residence on Mauritius, the Trianon Palace in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

and

Sun International Sun International is a South African gambling and hospitality company, founded by Sol Kerzner in 1967. Sun International owns diverse assets, including the Sun City resort near Rustenburg, in the North West Province, and an online gambling ...

's Saint Géran on

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

. In 2002–2003, Naret became

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

of Operations for

Aga Khan Aga Khan (; ; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imamate in Nizari doctrine, Imām of the Nizari Isma'ilism, Nizari Isma'ilism, Ismāʿīli Shia Islam, Shias. The current holder of the title is the ...

's Serena Hotels and Resorts. Directly reporting to His Highness the Aga Kahn, his missions entailed developing the tourism sector. During that time, Naret launched new projects for the group.

Michelin guides

From 2003 to 2011, Naret was the managing director, then

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

, of the

, a series of influential guide books published by the French company

Michelin Michelin ( , ), in full ("General Company of the Michelin Enterprises P.L.S."), is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes '' région'' of France. It is the second largest t ...

for more than a century and that can have dramatic effects on the success of a restaurant. Under his leadership, the guide books and the brand grew internationally, with new destinations and new Michelin Starred

Chefs A chef is a professional cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the director or head of a kitchen. Chefs can receive f ...

around the world, in particular:

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

. The Los Angeles and Las Vegas guides were discontinued after two years following low sales and criticism of the guides for misunderstanding the Los Angeles food scene. Naret in turn stated "the people in Los Angeles are not real foodies. They are not too interested in eating well but just in who goes to which restaurant and where they sit.".

Since Michelin

In 2021, he was appointed CEO at The Set Collection, a collection of luxury hotels around the globe. After Michelin, he became the CEO of La Reserve Hotels & Spas in Paris,

Ramatuelle Ramatuelle (; Provençal: ''Ramatuela'') is a commune in the southeastern French department of Var. History Ramatuelle lies near St-Tropez, Sainte-Maxime and Gassin. It was built on a hill to defend itself against enemies. The town was known ...

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

and

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. Since 2019, he founded ''JLN & Co – Creative Minds'', a consultancy specialized in luxury lifestyle. He regularly speaks at events worldwide on the topics of hospitality and high-quality restaurants. In 2007, Naret was presented with the highest civilian distinction in France,

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, for his contribution to the travel industry.Asia Tatler: Jean-Luc Naret of La Réserve
(November 2, 2007, visited July 1, 2021)

References

External links

Authors@Google: Jean-Luc Naret
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naret, Jean-Luc Living people French food writers 1961 births