- Created on
- 26 June 2026
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- EU4Algae
Published on 26 June 2026
Aurélie Viard is a raw food chef, culinary designer, and co-manager of Biovie, where she works at the intersection of living food, education, and sustainable food innovation. With a background in the creative arts, she brings a distinctive designer’s perspective to food, focusing on how plants and algae can be transformed into accessible, sensory, and everyday culinary experiences.
Since joining Biovie in 2015 alongside Eric Viard, she has contributed to the development of educational tools, recipes, books, and training programmes that aim to make living food more approachable and desirable. Her work places particular emphasis on algae, exploring their culinary potential and their role in more sustainable food systems.
She is the co-author of Algues au Quotidien, which received international recognition in 2025, including the Gourmand Cookbook Awards and the Prix de l’Académie Nationale de Cuisine, reflecting a growing interest in algae-based gastronomy in Europe and beyond.
In this interview, Aurélie reflects on her journey from the creative world into food, and shares how creativity, storytelling, and education can help bring algae-based cuisine into everyday life. She also discusses the importance of traceability, pleasure, and responsibility in shaping the future of sustainable food innovation.
1. You joined Biovie in 2015, bringing your background as a designer and your experience working in an organic and raw food store. Since then, your partnership with Eric Viard has contributed to expanding Biovie's creative and educational approach to living food and algae-based products. Could you tell us more about your journey so far, and how your personal and professional experiences shaped your interest in raw food, sustainable nutrition, and seaweed-based cuisine?
My path has never been a straight or predetermined one – and that, precisely, is what gives it its coherence. I do not come from nutrition or food science; I come from the artistic world. My first training was in observation and materials, in synthesis and expression. I studied the arts for nine years and worked as a textile designer before life led me towards food through a door I had never anticipated.
That designer's sensibility has never left me; today, it is the very way I approach plants and algae.
I would place the turning point in the spring of 2014. Motherhood had led me to question conventional advice on children's growth, and I wanted to understand how my own body would respond if I radically changed what was on my plate. I was going through a period of transition – between two cities, between two careers, and as the mother of young children. I found myself eating almost exclusively raw fruits and vegetables. Within a few weeks, I felt a steady energy, deeper sleep, and a new sense of clarity. I had not subscribed to a theory; I had simply observed an effect in my own body.
Over time, that intuition became a conviction, which I summarise like this: we are not only what we eat – we are also what we assimilate.
It was through living food that my path crossed with Eric Viard's and Biovie's, which I joined in 2015. Working alongside Eric, I was able to combine my creative background with Biovie's vision of making living food and algae more accessible to a wider audience. For nearly a decade, I have focused on what I do best: creating. I learned to understand products – their origins, their uses, and their potential – while helping to develop the product range, create recipes, and build an editorial and educational approach that made living food desirable and accessible, far removed from any austere or elitist image.
This work led to the publication of several books, including one devoted entirely to algae, published by Gallimard. It was through this project that algae established themselves as both an obvious choice and a lasting passion. They bring together everything that inspires me: remarkable nutritional density, a depth of flavour that remains largely unexplored in Western cuisine, and a sensory dimension that speaks directly to the designer in me.
A living marine ingredient, algae offer textures, colours and flavours unlike anything else.
2. Biovie's philosophy centres on making living and organic food more accessible and approachable for everyone. Through product development, books, and online cooking courses, you have helped translate these ideas into practical everyday experiences. How do creativity and innovation help you encourage people to discover algae and integrate it more naturally into their daily routines?
For me, creativity is not a decorative extra – it is one of the most effective tools for overcoming resistance. You do not convince someone to love algae with a nutritional argument alone. You convince them with a mouthful that surprises, comforts, and makes them want to come back for more. That is exactly the work of a culinary designer: creating desire before adherence.
My first rule is to start with pleasure, never with constraint. The second is to build on familiar reference points. Rather than asking people to “cook seaweed” – a territory that can sometimes feel intimidating – I incorporate it into forms they already know and enjoy: a butter, a broth, a condiment, or a finishing seasoning. Algae then become part of an everyday gesture, almost a reflex, like reaching for salt or pepper, rather than a complicated project.
I also enjoy playing with illusion and the memory of taste. For example, I created an entirely plant-based bisque that recreates all the depth and richness of a seafood dish through the synergy of just a few algae. You rediscover a familiar flavour and emotion, but without any animal products. That sense of familiarity can be a powerful gateway to discovering algae.
Finally, I pay great attention to presentation, because tasting begins with the eyes. Visual appeal is often the first step in the sensory experience of food. A beautiful plate awakens curiosity and desire, and desire is one of the strongest drivers of lasting habits.
3. Through books such as Algues au Quotidien and your wider educational activities, you focus on making algae-based cuisine simple, practical, and appealing to broader audiences. What inspired you to work with edible seaweed in this way, and why do you believe algae can play an important role in the future of sustainable and nutritious food systems?
What inspired me was a twofold observation. On one hand, algae offer remarkable nutritional value, providing a rich source of minerals and trace elements such as iodine, calcium, magnesium, and iron, as well as proteins and omega-3 fatty acids. On the other hand, in the West – and in France in particular – this resource remains largely absent from our plates, often limited to Asian cuisine or a few coastal traditions. It felt like an entire culinary territory waiting to be explored.
For me, algae respond directly to some of the major challenges facing tomorrow's food systems. They can be cultivated without requiring arable land or freshwater resources, and they do not compete with conventional food crops. When produced responsibly, they can also contribute positively to marine environments while offering new opportunities for sustainable food production.
However, no matter how promising a resource may be, its impact remains limited until people genuinely want to eat it. That is where everything is decided – and where I believe my role lies: helping to bridge the nutritional and environmental potential of algae with the pleasure of eating.
Europe is fortunate to have an extensive coastline and passionate producers who are advancing the sector. The next step is to continue developing a culinary culture that embraces algae as part of everyday food. I believe this is one of the great – and delicious – opportunities of our century.
4. Consumer awareness around healthy eating, plant-based diets, and sustainable food choices continues to grow. From your experience engaging with customers, readers, and webinar participants, what are some of the main misconceptions or barriers people still have regarding algae and raw food, and how do you try to make these topics more accessible and relatable?
The barriers are real, and I prefer to address them directly rather than brush them aside.
When it comes to algae, I often hear three concerns: that they taste too strongly of the sea, that they are associated mainly with Asian cuisine rather than European food traditions, and, occasionally, questions about iodine content. In each case, I find that clear information is far more effective than persuasion.
The perception of a strong marine flavour often comes down to the species used and the quantity incorporated into a dish. Some varieties, such as dulse, have a mild, almost nutty taste, while others, such as sea lettuce, are particularly delicate. As for the idea that algae are "not part of our culture", it is worth remembering that regions such as Brittany, Ireland, and Scandinavia have long traditions of using seaweed in food. Algae are part of Europe's culinary heritage as well.
Questions about iodine are also understandable, and these can usually be addressed through clear guidance on species selection and appropriate consumption levels.
When it comes to raw and living food, the most common concern is whether people will obtain the nutrients they need, particularly protein. My approach is to focus on variety, balance, and the quality of ingredients, while encouraging people to discover what works best for them.
More broadly, my method is always the same: I do not begin with theory. I begin with a flavour that surprises, a simple gesture, or a recipe that succeeds the very first time. Confidence grows through experience rather than argument. When someone prepares their first seaweed broth and genuinely enjoys it, many of those initial barriers disappear, leaving curiosity to take their place.
5. Alongside product innovation, Biovie places strong emphasis on publishing, training, and knowledge sharing. How important do you think education and storytelling are in helping people better understand the nutritional, culinary, and environmental value of algae and other living foods?
Education and storytelling are, in my view, at the very heart of the matter – far more than technique alone. You do not introduce food into a culture through a table of nutritional values. You do so through a story, an emotion, and an imaginary world in which people can picture themselves.
To someone who has never cooked with it, an alga is, above all, a stranger. Storytelling gives it a place: where it comes from, who harvests it, what it reveals about a territory, and about our relationship with the sea. Suddenly, it is no longer a foreign ingredient – it becomes an encounter.
This work of translation – from producer to plate, from nutrient to pleasure – is at the core of my books, recipes, and courses. Alongside it, I hold a principle I value deeply: accuracy. Telling a story is not about overselling. I am wary of miracle promises. I prefer to explain honestly what a food brings, and what it does not. It is this rigour that builds lasting trust, and trust is the foundation of any meaningful and lasting change in habits.
Ultimately, to educate and to tell stories is to give people the tools to make their own choices, consciously and with pleasure. It is, to me, the most respectful form of transmission there is.
6. Biovie highlights principles such as traceability, ethical trade, environmental responsibility, and listening closely to customer needs. How do these values influence the way you approach algae-based products and sustainable food innovation more broadly?
These are values I helped carry during my years at Biovie, and they remain the backbone of my independent practice today. For me, they are not an ethical add-on – they are the starting point. A culinary creation only interests me if the resource behind it is beyond reproach.
With algae, this begins with traceability. I want to know where an alga comes from, how it is harvested or cultivated, and by whom. I work closely with producers, because good cooking begins with an intimate understanding of the resource, and because this direct link is the best guarantee of quality and respect for the environment. A poorly managed wild harvest can damage an ecosystem; a well-managed cultivation can, on the contrary, support it. This discernment is an integral part of my craft.
Listening, finally, is perhaps the value I place above all others. I never create in the abstract: I observe real uses, real needs, and the feedback of the people I cook for. It is this continuous loop between lived experience and creation that turns innovation into something truly useful, rather than unnecessary.
My conviction is simple: desire and responsibility are not opposed. A plate can be beautiful, flavourful, and ethical all at once – from the producer right through to the final taste. That, to me, is the only kind of food innovation that truly deserves the name.
7. Algues au Quotidien, co-authored with Eric Viard, received international and national recognition in 2025, including the Gourmand Cookbook Awards and the Prix de l'Académie Nationale de Cuisine. What does this recognition mean to you personally, and how do you see it reflecting a broader shift in the way Western audiences are approaching algae and marine plant-based cuisine?
This recognition moved me deeply, for a reason that may be unexpected. Coming, as I do, from the creative world rather than a scientific or academic background, being honoured by institutions such as the Académie Nationale de Cuisine and internationally by the Gourmand Cookbook Awards is a powerful form of validation – the recognition of a sensitive, intuitive path that has finally found its place within the world of gastronomy.
What feels most significant to me, however, goes beyond my own experience. The fact that a book devoted entirely to algae has been distinguished both in a “seafood” category and, by a culinary academy, in a wellbeing category, says something meaningful. Algae are gradually moving away from the margins. Long confined to health food shelves or perceived as either exotic or niche, they are now entering the space of legitimate gastronomy – where pleasure, culture, and the art of the table come together.
To me, this reflects a genuine cultural shift in the West. Both the public and chefs are beginning to view marine plants not as a curiosity, but as a noble ingredient, rich in flavour and meaning.
I see this award as a collective recognition of the producers, researchers, and an entire community working to bring this sector into being. It is a door we are opening together.
8. Looking ahead, what role do you hope to continue playing in promoting algae-based cuisine, sustainable food education, and accessible living food practices? Are there any future projects, collaborations, or areas of innovation that you are especially excited to explore?
Today, I am continuing along this path independently as a culinary designer specialising in living and plant-based food. The role I see for myself is to act as a bridge between the resource and the plate, between producers and chefs, and between the potential of an ingredient and the desire it can inspire.
What excites me most is supporting fine-dining chefs who wish to develop a genuine plant-based signature – a cuisine in which vegetables and algae are not substitutes, but the subject itself, treated with the highest level of rigour. This is still a field that remains largely to be invented in France, and algae have a central role to play in it. They bring to the plant world what it sometimes lacks: marine depth, umami, and the salt of the ocean.
I am also deeply committed to continuing to pass on knowledge – through my creations, through teaching, and through dialogue with those who help this sector evolve. I strongly believe in the European dimension of this journey. We share a coastline, expertise, and committed producers; what remains is to build, together, a culinary culture of algae that is truly our own – one that brings together pleasure, health, and respect for living systems.
This work is only just beginning, and that is precisely what makes it so exciting.
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