Meet China’s favourite etiquette coach, darling of socialites and the super rich
- Guillaume Rué de Bernadac teaches Chinese clients how to hold a teacup, how to sit, stand and eat
- His great-grandfather tutored Moroccan royalty, and he learned etiquette at an early age
Guillaume Rué de Bernadac is the walking epitome of class and poise. Sporting a tailored double-breasted suit, an ascot pin on his pink cravat and a rosy pocket square in a matching colour scheme, he greets us at the Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund.
It took a while to nail down de Bernadac, who since founding Academie de Bernadac in 2015, has quickly become one of the most sought-after etiquette instructors in China.
The academy is employed by financial institutions, hotels and the food and beverage industry to train their staff on how to present themselves. De Bernadac has just returned from Hangzhou, where he taught some seven-year-olds dining etiquette and had spent the week before in Guangzhou, where he trained butlers at a five-star retreat.
Earlier last month, Gucci invited de Bernadac to coach their VIP clients on what to wear for different occasions – business formal, cocktail and “creative black tie, very tricky”, he says. “You need to know what you can do and what you can’t do. To be modern 21st century ladies and gentlemen means knowing the rules, and always, knowing when you can break them.”
Knowing the rules is not easy. Each culture, society and occasion comes with its own set of social customs and whether you can play by the rules will often decide if you can become part of the group. The challenge is that much of it is tacit knowledge rather than explicit guidelines, and this is where de Bernadac comes in.