Chef Julien Chambriard creates dishes that marry American brunch food with French flavors. Photos: Day Photographies
On a sun-drenched street in Cavalaire-sur-Mer, a seaside town on the French Riviera just outside of Saint-Tropez, sits Edina, a café that serves American brunch with a French twist. To owner Kinga Chambriard, Edina is not just a place—it’s a philosophy. “What is Edina? The idea of family, the idea of success, happiness, hospitality,” Kinga says.
Kinga was one of 27 interns in Normandale Elementary School’s French immersion program from 2012–13. Originally from Poland, she learned French in college and practiced it in the summertime as an au pair in France. She then moved to France to pursue a master’s degree in French didactics. It was there that she learned about the internship program. “Kinga was the first intern who was not from a native francophone country, but she learned French like a native French speaker,” says Karen Meyer, a third grade teacher at Normandale Elementary. Kinga worked with Meyer for the entire school year and helped with French language arts, history, math, science and social studies. “She was caring, kind and smiley. All students and parents who met her, loved her,” Meyer says.
“The time I spent in Edina shaped me in ways I could never have imagined,” Kinga says. “Above all, it allowed me to witness the quiet strength, resilience and power of the women who surrounded me. It began with my host families—the McCarthy and Epple families—and my partner family, the Bensons. They did more than welcome me into their homes; they opened their hearts. Through them, I discovered not only American culture, but also what generosity, kindness and unconditional support truly look like.”
Kinga Chambriard crafts a latte with care and precision.
After the internship, Kinga moved back to France and settled in the Alps where her husband, chef Julien Chambriard, worked at a restaurant. When they had their second child, the couple began dreaming of a better work-life balance. Kinga immediately thought of her host families. “They were an example. I wanted the same for myself. I wanted to work, be a successful woman, but also a mother,” she says. She thought of how busy restaurant life was and wanted reasonable hours, so she and her husband could still focus on their family. “That’s why the idea of brunch was born,” Kinga says, adding it was an unconventional idea as brunch is not popular in France.
Kinga had never eaten pancakes before coming to the United States and her first bagel came from Breadsmith. But with Julien’s culinary experience and Kinga’s vision, they began experimenting. Four months before opening their first restaurant in the Alps, she called her host mother and role model, Christina McCarthy, who suggested Kinga should add waffles to the menu. “I didn’t even know what a waffle was,” Kinga says. “I checked on the internet. We looked for recipes for bagels, for waffles, for pancakes. I was looking everywhere on American blogs to find good recipes. Julien started to modify them to create something French. American ideas with a French taste.”
Julien and Kinga Chambriard pour love into their cafe, which is affectionately called Edina. Kinga was an intern at Normandale Elementary School in Edina and her experiences inspired her to create her own business on the French Riviera.
The couple opened the first iteration of Edina in the Alps. Their sons, Adrien and Anatole, were 2 and 1. “I was serving my first coffees with my baby,” she says. Later, during ski season, their children went to daycare and rejoined them after 5 p.m. Meyer even ate there. “Hot, hearty comfort food in the mountains,” she says. But their success was brief. COVID-19 arrived. Lockdowns shuttered restaurants. Bills mounted. They then had a 4-month old, Augustin, and, with three young children and rising uncertainty, Kinga and Julien made a radical decision. Just before France’s fourth lockdown, they took a ferry to Corsica and spent weeks in a small house by the beach, rethinking everything. From there, they decided to sell it all. Within 24 hours of posting their restaurant for sale, a buyer called. Within three months, the restaurant and house were gone. “It was the craziest time of my life,” Kinga says.
By early 2022, they had relocated to the French Riviera and reopened Edina in Cavalaire-sur-Mer. Edina families often stop by during their trips to France. “All her experiences in this community had a deeply touching effect on Kinga,” Meyer says. “It is remarkable that she chose Edina for the restaurant in which she and her husband make a living.”
The restaurant is in the town of Cavalaire-sur-Mer. Customers get spectacular views of the Mediterranean Sea.
The ethos behind the restaurant is healthful food. Everything is made from scratch. “The bagels, we make them ourselves. It’s two times cooked. Everything is made by hand. My husband, he makes everything himself. He boils the bagels in water with spices, and after, he finishes the cooking in the oven. We make the waffles with four types of flour: rice, corn, white flour and Sarasin [buckwheat flour from Brittany],” Kinga says. “When people come to the restaurant, they can try those dishes that are different from typical French cuisine, but there’s still that French touch because my husband is French. He made these American dishes more French.”
It’s her hope that good food fosters connection and community. “The idea of this restaurant is very important to us: We create our best memories at the table,” Kinga says. “My clients say they can feel love in our cuisine. That is Edina.”
Edina
Instagram: @edinacavalaire
