{"id":28292,"date":"2026-10-03T13:09:37","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T11:09:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amoiel.ch\/non-categorise\/benjamin-luzuy-a-human-being-first-and-foremost\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T13:09:37","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T11:09:37","slug":"benjamin-luzuy-a-human-being-first-and-foremost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amoiel.ch\/en\/portrait\/benjamin-luzuy-a-human-being-first-and-foremost\/","title":{"rendered":"Benjamin Luzuy: A human being first and foremost!"},"content":{"rendered":"

The sun is already shining brightly over Lake Geneva on this beautiful late-September morning. Benjamin Luzuy is walking briskly. A few hours earlier, he was working out while juggling phone calls\u2014answering those whose callers might not notice his labored breathing, then calling back the others once he\u2019d caught his breath. That image captures him pretty well. Benjamin Luzuy has rarely stopped running. <\/p>\n

\"260826
Benjamin Luzuy at the Auberge du Port Gitana \u00a9 Edouard Amoiel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A meteorite<\/h2>\n

This morning, however, by the lake, the talk is of looking back a bit. A year after the Auberge Port-Gitana opened, calm has returned. With a confidence and serenity he admits to having lost in 2025. We have to go back to April 24. This magical spot, right on the water, was set to open a few days later, on May 5. For weeks, about thirty people had been working on the launch. Then the phone rang. A fire had just broken out on the roof. Solar panels had caught fire. No one was injured, but a critical part of the technical infrastructure was damaged. With just two weeks to go before opening, no one could tell him when Port Gitana would be able to welcome its first guests. \u201cIt was like being hit by a meteorite,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

The problem becomes at once personal, operational, and financial. The teams are committed, salaries are being paid, the company is ready to operate, but it cannot open. Benjamin Luzuy considers insurance options before discovering a harsh reality: to be compensated for lost income, one must first be able to prove that income existed. But Port-Gitana had never actually opened. He then realized that no one would save the project for him. Which employees should he keep? Which talents should be protected? How long could the rest of the group continue to support Port-Gitana? \u201cTo make the right decision, you need clarity. And I no longer had any,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\"250624
The entrance to the Auberge du Port Gitana \u00a9 Edouard Amoiel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stability in 2026<\/h2>\n

That\u2019s probably where 2025 left its deepest mark. Port-Gitana was supposed to be one of the most important projects of his entrepreneurial career. Suddenly, it became the one that could jeopardize an entire group. Giving up, however, was never an option. \u201cFor me, entrepreneurship is like climbing Mount Everest. It\u2019s not a sprint up Sal\u00e8ve.\u201d The restaurant finally opened on June 20, still surrounded by scaffolding. The hotel followed on September 5. \u201cWe presented the bride with a cast,\u201d he smiles today. <\/p>\n

Since he won\u2019t be compensated for the financial loss as he had hoped, the entrepreneur is negotiating for more time. His initial five-year lease is now potentially extended to twelve years. It\u2019s a way of turning an immediate challenge into a long-term prospect. However, holding out doesn\u2019t mean coming out unscathed. At the end of the year, speaking to his teams, he acknowledges that it has been a less peaceful and, at times, less pleasant period. \u201cIn the employer-employee relationship, the word \u2018relationship\u2019 is key. My decisions also shape the professional experience of the people who work with me.\u201d He then promises a more stable 2026.<\/p>\n

\"260826
Benjamin Luzuy at the Auberge du Port Gitana restaurant \u00a9 Edouard Amoiel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do less, but do it better!<\/h2>\n

Today, he believes he has kept his word. Port-Gitana has changed significantly. Of the original team of about thirty people, only a few remain. The group has also become more structured, with new tools that allow it to track the financial performance of its properties much more accurately and quickly. At Port-Gitana, this newfound peace of mind goes hand in hand with a new philosophy: less volume, more precision. \u201cDo less, but do it better.\u201d <\/p>\n

Maturity is also evident in other ways. In this wine list, which features bottles that Benjamin Luzuy has been collecting since 2008. In the loyalty of Paul Cassigneul, his sister Marie Luzuy, Giuseppe Dell\u2019Aquila, and those who have been working with him\u2014in some cases for more than ten years. Without them, he acknowledges, 2025 would likely have been a different story. \u201cI\u2019m not sure I would have succeeded,\u201d he begins, before correcting himself: \u201cthat we would have succeeded.\u201d <\/p>\n

After about twenty years as an entrepreneur, he\u2019s delegating more, surrounding himself with the right people, and accepting that he no longer has to be everywhere at once. Port-Gitana actually fits this stage of his life quite well. His best barometer, however, is neither revenue nor occupancy rates\u2026 but his sleep! Last year, putting down his phone sometimes took effort. This year, he says, it\u2019s becoming natural again. Sleep has returned. He, who had always been able to recover despite a hectic pace, had discovered waking up in the middle of the night and those problems that, at three in the morning, suddenly take on disproportionate proportions. <\/p>\n

\"250624
The bar at the Auberge du Port Gitana \u00a9 Edouard Amoiel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Catch Your Breath<\/h2>\n

Today, he\u2019s back to sleeping soundly, and Port-Gitana also seems to have found its stride. The restaurant is refining its identity, while the hotel is running exceptionally well. This synergy is even opening up a new path for him, as he now plans to further develop this combination of dining and lodging. But that\u2019s another story. <\/p>\n

For now, we keep walking along the lake. The phone rings from time to time. Benjamin answers, takes care of a matter, hangs up, and then picks up the conversation almost exactly where we left off. He\u2019s still that entrepreneur who thinks quickly, takes on a lot, and seems incapable of staying still for long. Yet something has changed. Today, Benjamin Luzuy has learned that not everything can be controlled. That some meteorites fall without warning. That holding on doesn\u2019t mean carrying everything alone. And that success isn\u2019t always a matter of speed. Sometimes, success begins when you take the time to catch your breath. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A tumultuous 2025, a few certainties turned upside down, and now, a renewed sense of calm. As he walks along the shores of Lake Geneva, Benjamin Luzuy reflects on how far he\u2019s come since the Auberge Port-Gitana opened. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":28293,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"slim_seo":{"title":"Benjamin Luzuy: A human being first and foremost! | Restaurant Geneva | Edouard Amoiel","description":"A tumultuous 2025, a few certainties turned upside down, and now, a renewed sense of calm. As he walks along the shores of Lake Geneva, Benjamin Luzuy reflects"},"_slim_seo_primary_term_category":0,"_slim_seo_primary_term_post_tag":0,"_slim_seo_primary_term_restaurants-par-lieux":0,"_slim_seo_primary_term_style-de-restaurant":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[358],"tags":[],"restaurants-par-lieux":[353],"style-de-restaurant":[],"class_list":["post-28292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-portrait","restaurants-par-lieux-geneva"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amoiel.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amoiel.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amoiel.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amoiel.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amoiel.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/amoiel.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28292\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amoiel.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amoiel.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amoiel.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amoiel.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28292"},{"taxonomy":"restaurants-par-lieux","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amoiel.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/restaurants-par-lieux?post=28292"},{"taxonomy":"style-de-restaurant","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amoiel.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/style-de-restaurant?post=28292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}