Paul Ricard was a man of many passions. In fact, he titled his memoir A Passion for Creating, which ultimately sounds like an understatement. The founder of France’s most emblematic pastis, Ricard turned his aniseed aperitif into a juggernaut; his family’s company is one of the biggest spirits brands in the world. He loved to sail. He loved to paint. He built a racing track, Le Circuit Paul Ricard, which for 20 years hosted France’s F1 race. He founded an Oceanographic Institute set on the Mediterranean sea that, as a born-and-bred Marseillais, he adored. He bought two islands – three if you count a piece of land moored in the marshes of the Camargue.
Perhaps the most telling example, though, was his own living room. Ricard kept extending and extending it in order to accommodate the portraits of loved ones he would insist on painting; a never-quite-ending gallery reflecting his never-quite-ending urge to create.
Yet when asked what he would be remembered for, Ricard – who would die in 1997, aged 88 – replied: “Bendor will stay.”
The fishermen’s houses in Île de Bendor’s harbour © Chloé Le Drezen
A statue of Neptune on an island path © Chloé Le Drezen
