Lucie Barthélémy, a 37-year-old ex-professional dancer, transitioned from a successful ballet career to become a ballet teacher in 2022. She has also been a food blogger since 2005, launching her career as a culinary content creator and pastry chef with her first blog, "Les Délices de Lulu." Over time, Lucie developed a profound passion for pastries and earned her expert diploma in pastry-making from a Spanish hotel school. This achievement coincided with her tenure as a solo dancer at the National Dance Company in Madrid from 2016 to 2017. Her pastry expertise led her to start selling pastries online, complementing her professional dance career. Lucie's passion for patisserie is so immense that she spends a significant amount of her time on it: she has written several Ebooks, collaborated with numerous restaurants and coffee shops as a pastry chef and food photographer, conducts pastry workshops, and even works as a recipe illustrator. In addition to her work as a freelance dance teacher, Lucie dedicates herself entirely to the world of gastronomy.
Lucie Barthélémy: I began food blogging in 2005, the same year I started working as a professional ballet dancer in Munich. It was also the year I started living on my own and cooking for myself, something I hadn't done before. I began searching the internet for recipes, discovered recipe platforms, and decided to share my own recipes. I started my first blog, Les Délices de Lulu, on Canalblog. At the time, I was taking simple photos of my recipes and sharing them on the blog.
I loved spending time in the kitchen to disconnect from my daily life as a dancer. For me, pastry-making was like an escape, allowing me to concentrate on a task and not think about anything else. It was a great way to entertain myself! I was frustrated that I couldn't share my successes with the world, and the blog helped me remedy that!
A few years later, I switched to another blog platform called Blogger and created a blog called Cuisine En Scène. In 2010, a journalist from the French lifestyle magazine, Côté Maison, contacted me and offered to host my blog on their website. They were looking for food bloggers to promote recipes on their site. I agreed, and this gave my work more visibility and a sense of professionalism: Cuisine en Scène - CôtéMaison.fr was born!
During my time in Madrid, I decided to become a professional pastry chef and pursued an online certification. I launched my new blog, Tarthélémy, to share my photos and videos for the certification program. The blog was so well-received by my instructors that I decided to continue it even after obtaining my certification.
I decided to control the advertisements on my blog, as the money from the ads on Côtémaison's site went to them, not me. I wanted to have the option to earn from my blog if I decided to do so in the future. Around the same time, I started an Instagram account, where I was contacted by various brands. This allowed me to start earning from my work. As a ballet dancer and teacher, I had a steady income and didn't need to rely on my blog. However, when I transitioned to freelance work, I needed additional income to pay my rent.
I received financial support when I left the company in Munich, which helped me during my transition. I also received some money from my employer in Madrid, which I saved for future use. In France, I was able to benefit from a system that provides support for freelancers, which helped me during periods without work. This system allowed me to pay for my master's degree while I was working as a freelance artist and content creator first, and as a ballet teacher during the second year.
That's how my love for food, coupled with my ballet career, led me to become a food blogger. The experience made me more conscious of what I cook and eat, and I vowed never to sacrifice anything related to food in my life again.
Lucie: I've always loved food. While studying at the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris, I struggled with an eating disorder, a fact which I hadn't disclosed to anyone before. The disorder was triggered by a teacher's comment on my appearance. I was 16 and had just returned from a holiday in Greece. I was going through a rebellious phase, and my diet was far from ideal.
Upon returning from the vacation, my teacher told me I looked bloated and needed to lose weight. I was devastated and decided to change my diet drastically. My mom and I bought protein soup packages from the pharmacy. For a few months, I replaced my dinner with this soup, an apple, and a sugar-free yogurt. This led to a significant weight loss, so much so that my teacher asked me to stop dieting and gain some weight back.
The teacher sent me to the conservatoire's nutritionist, who warned me that unless I gained a couple of kilos over the Easter holidays, I would be stopped. I did manage to put on weight to continue dancing, but my weight still wasn't healthy. Over time, I adopted a healthier diet, and my relationship with food changed. This change led me to start food blogging. I discovered the joy of cooking and how a delicious cake can lift one's spirits.
Now, as a ballet teacher, I'm mindful of the impact of comments on students' bodies. I make sure to encourage my students to be proud of their bodies, regardless of their size. I've seen how this positivity can transform students and help them work with more confidence and passion.
That's how my love for food, coupled with my ballet career, led me to become a food blogger. The experience made me more conscious of what I cook and eat, and I vowed never to sacrifice anything related to food in my life again.
Lucie: Yes, this career transition provided me with the opportunity to work with restaurants. I recall working with a restaurant in Madrid named Uskar. They opened near where I lived and I was immediately drawn to what they offered. One day, I approached them and offered to create a dessert for them, mentioning that I was a pastry chef and a soloist ballet dancer with the Compañía Nacional de Danza.
Initially, they found it unusual but eventually asked me to send them an offer by email. Although the collaboration was unpaid, I created a recipe and taught their kitchen team how to make it. My dessert was then featured on their menu for almost a year, which was an incredible experience.
In addition to this, I also had a cake sold at a coffee shop in Madrid. I taught their cook how to make my cake and was paid in vouchers for their cafeteria, which I used to buy coffee. I had a similar experience in Paris where I created three cookie recipes for a coffee shop. They sold my cookies for about a month in February 2021. While I didn't receive any financial compensation for this, it was a rewarding collaboration.
Another notable collaboration was with a well-known pastry chef in Madrid, who asked me to create a granola to incorporate into one of her cakes. We worked together on this unique creation. These experiences have been wonderful. I greatly appreciate these exchanges and collaborations.
Once I have the recipe, I make the cake while filming the process. Even if I'm not certain it'll turn out well, I film it anyway.
Lucie: Certainly, the process begins with me contemplating a flavor I desire. It could be anything, for instance, peanut butter. I then think about how to combine peanut butter with another ingredient, often a fruit. That's how I come up with unique flavor combinations. I also consider textures, aiming for something chocolatey yet silky. Once I have a flavor and texture in mind, I conceptualize a cake. I visualize it in my mind, and sometimes I even sketch it out using watercolor or digitally on my iPad. Once my idea is on paper, I write down the recipe.
This is when my experience as a pastry chef becomes invaluable. Understanding the correct proportions of butter, flour, sugar, and eggs to achieve a specific texture isn't something everyone knows. However, having created countless recipes, I can confidently determine the right proportions for the desired outcome.
Once I have the recipe, I make the cake while filming the process. Even if I'm not certain it'll turn out well, I film it anyway. Luckily, most of the time it does turn out well, and I can publish the process without losing any footage.
When the recipe is complete, I photograph the cake. After that, we enjoy the cake, but not all at once. That's our secret to staying fit. We cut the cake into individual portions and freeze them. Depending on the type of cake, I wrap the portions in kitchen paper, plastic film, or aluminum foil, or I put them directly into a Tupperware container. We then defrost a portion each day to enjoy, ensuring we aren't tempted to eat the whole cake at once.
Lucie: The future of my platform presents an intriguing challenge. Initially, as a food blogger, I merely shared content for enjoyment, without any financial or sales intent. As my followers increased, brands began to approach me for collaborations in exchange for money. This transitioned my platform into a sort of shop window.
However, this is where I encounter conflict. I would enjoy collaborating with many brands, but I prefer to work with fewer brands that pay more, rather than with many brands that pay less. I don't want my account to become solely a promotional page for brands.
I want to maintain room for spontaneous posts and content that reflect my daily life without necessarily being an advertisement. Ideally, I would like brands to contact me to create content specific to them, which doesn't necessarily have to be promoted on my page, even though I could since I own the photos. What I don't want my page to become is a window for all kinds of brands, like Amazon. I want my page to remain spontaneous, personal, and a reflection of who I am: a former ballet dancer who loves baking and cooking, sharing her passion with everyone but not necessarily promoting a brand in every post.
Lucie: My journey has been unique. When I wanted to transition away from ballet, I pursued a master's degree in cultural management. It not only facilitated my transition but also enriched my understanding of financial and communication strategies, as well as business tactics. Despite the high cost, I never regretted earning my master's degree.
Here are a few pieces of advice. First, don't be afraid to move on from your ballet training. You will always be a ballet dancer at heart, and this background will influence your new profession. When asked about my profession, I still say "I'm a ballet dancer," because ballet has played a pivotal role in my life. So, don't fear losing your past as a ballet dancer; it will be beneficial in your new career.
As my boyfriend often points out, when you leave ballet, you're at a stage in your life where you have ample time to embark on a new career. So, be excited! The time you devoted to ballet can now be invested in your next endeavor. Embrace it, learn it, and enjoy it.
Remember, you have many years ahead. It's normal to go through a learning period. Just as you learned ballet from scratch and didn't become a star at eight years old, you'll need time to become proficient in your new career. So, don't be afraid.
Top image courtesy of Lucie Barthélémy
