Alain Brieu, sculptor in Eure and star of a Chinese culinary reality TV show: "In Canton, I was noticed in the street!"

Sitting in the sun in front of Atelier 87, on Rue Claude Monet in Giverny (Eure), as the dense crowd heads towards the Museum of Impressionism, Alain Brieu is still quite surprised by the popularity he enjoys among Chinese tourists. Indeed, since his appearance on the reality TV show "The Chinese Restaurant," a season of which was filmed in the Normandy village last summer and then broadcast a few months later, the 77-year-old artist from the Eure has become "YéYé," the grandfather, and the symbol of French wisdom and romanticism.

Born in Paris, Alain Brieu spent most of his youth in Canada before settling in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône) for a career in international trade, specializing in the food industry. He later became a bronze sculptor, while his brother steered him, in the early 1990s, to become a founder for artists and art dealers. "My studio was in the old Singer factory in Bonnières-sur-Seine ( Yvelines) ," he explains. "Upon retirement in 2014, I became a bronze sculptor and opened Espace 87 in Giverny, with the painter and crime writer Christine Cloos."

Very quickly, this lover of countries and cultures saw "the whole world parade in the street and in the gallery. I saw the first Korean and especially Chinese tourists arrive. It was an event. I like these international contacts, because I am lucky enough to speak several languages."

At the same time, Alain Brieu regularly visits Asia. Six times since 2006: "I love these countries and I fell in love with China. I've experienced some incredible things, and it gives me a new lease of life. I spend a month there each time. I plan to return this year."

It was during an invitation in 2018 from a Chinese collector that Alain Brieu and Christine Cloos went to Xi'an, "the city of terracotta soldiers. We worked there for four weeks. There, we appeared on all the local media."

A first touch of fame before the news, which he owes less to his sculpting talents than to the reality TV show "The Chinese Restaurant". From the first episode of the season filmed in Normandy, around David Gallienne's restaurant, Le Jardin des Plumes, he appears as a customer of the Chinese stars (three actors, two actresses and a singer) who come to cook in Giverny. He is subsequently one of the regulars of the restaurant and the events organized by the production. During a sequence of episode 9, he even puts on a traditional Chinese outfit .

“Since then, I’ve been recognized here and there. I returned to Guangzhou, a city of over 18 million people, in December 2024, and I was noticed on the street to the point of causing a crowd!” he smiles. “They call me YéYé, which means grandfather in Mandarin, in a very respectful version. Like a wise old man. To them, I represent a local native who knows a few words of Chinese and loves their country. Anyway, for the Chinese, a warm, interesting, and welcoming people, France is romantic, and they know Giverny well. It shows that we can all live in the same world.”