Antoine Duvignacq

Antoine Duvignacq is the co-founder of Context Works, a Paris-based studio that helps brands engage with the worlds of hospitality, gastronomy and craftsmanship through events, food and beverage programmes, and creative collaborations. With a background spanning wine, restaurants and brand strategy, he also works as a flying sommelier, creating wine lists and private cellars for restaurants, bars and collectors. Driven by a belief that food and wine are ultimately about people rather than prestige, Duvignacq recently launched WINELIST.WORLD, a media platform that explores wine through the stories, personalities and cultural moments surrounding it.

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Could you please tell our community a bit about yourself and what you do?

Hi, I'm Antoine Duvignacq, co-founder of Context Works, a studio built around the art of living, hospitality, gastronomy, craftsmanship.

We help brands step into this culture with clarity and purpose through events, F&B programs, and creative collaborations.

Alongside that, I work as a flying sommelier: building wine lists and cellars for restaurants, bars, and private clients.

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What are you currently working on or excited about?

Building Context means spending my days with chefs, sommeliers, and creatives, turning a good idea into a real recommendation for a brand or a venue. That moment when an idea clicks and you start building it with people from the industry is the part I never get tired of.

We've also recently launched a media about wine called WINELIST.WORLD, where we talk about the culture around wine, the people gravitating around it, what they love, why they drink, what their favorite wines are. I was tired of reading only experts' opinions, seeing wine only through the experts' lens. Wine is about people, stories, and encounters. There's so much more to say about it.

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How would you describe the restaurant scene in Paris at the moment?

I'll only talk about what I love and what I see around me. The small plates scene (very 11th arrondissement) has slowed down, making way for more traditional bistros and institutions to come back into fashion. I feel like in this period of economic and political uncertainty, people are looking for reassuring places, less frenzy for novelty. I find it quite lovely to keep coming back to places that have been around for a long time. It's a reward for consistency.

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What are three restaurants in Paris you particularly enjoy, and why?

From the past month:

Bittikesu: Jules' dedication to the freshest possible product. The menu moves with the market, the place is beautiful, and honestly, it feels like a trip.

Cheval D'or: first visit a few months ago, and everything landed: the atmosphere, the cooking, the service. Service, especially, it's the piece that's usually missing everywhere else, and here it isn't. I left there genuinely enthusiastic about life in general.

Le Canard Sauvage: Right next to a theatre, and you feel that energy the second you sit down. À la carte, fairly priced, a genuinely warm team. The cooking is direct and humble, it takes me straight back to the Basque Country.

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Are there any hidden gems in Paris you would like to highlight?

Le Canard Sauvage, still under the radar and I can't quite figure out why. Same reasons as above: the theatre-adjacent buzz, the honest à la carte cooking, a team that actually cares. It tastes like home.

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Which food cities around the world inspire you the most, and where do you like to eat when you're there?

San Sebastián, without hesitation. It’s close to where I grew up, and many of my food memories are of bar-hopping for pintxos with my family. These days, I go to Gerald’s Bar for a relaxed, intimate dinner; Bar Material for a glass of wine, where Flavien is one of the best hosts you’ll meet; La Vína for tarta de queso; Bar Txapetxa for the anchovies; and Bar Nestor for the tortilla.

I also fell in love with Hanoi. I don't even have any addresses.My fiancée and I got lost among hundreds of incredible street stalls. A paradise, definitely one of my favourite places to eat.

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What is your favourite dish, and where would you like to have it?

Anything cooked over fire: a beautiful turbot (at Elkano?) or a piece of meat cooked by my former chef partner, Maxence, served with its own jus and vegetables on the side. In front of a sunset, with friends.

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Is there an up-and-coming chef you think is doing great things?

My friend Antoine Galou – former line cook at Eléments (now closed and the chef opened Ostavals in the French Basque Country), Doyenne, and Septime – is definitely someone to watch.. He's got great human energy: humble, positive, and you can feel it in his cooking. He also pays close attention to sourcing, which matters a lot to me. For me, human quality is as important as cooking skill, and he's got both. He's currently second chef at Anema in Biarritz until the end of summer. Go meet him!

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Is there a food expert or curator whose restaurant recommendations you would particularly want to hear?

Garet Storey. He's also active on World of Mouth, and we share the same love for local dishes and tradition over trend. I follow his tips blindly, and I'm never disappointed.