Because this concept has been within Mike Rijken ever since he began working in France. After finishing hotel school in Bavaria, he puts his first footsteps in 1983 in Paris. There, he learned the language, and took courses at the Wine Academy of Steven Spurrier. Briefly, he returned to Holland and worked in a one-star Michelin retaurant as Chef de Partie.

In 1984, he worked in the heart of Burgundy (Beaune). His multiple talents served well in the kitchen and restaurants of a chain of Brasseries. In Burgundy, he led wine tours from the Hotel Le Cep (in Beaune), into Puligny-Montrachet and Pommard.

Although he worked for hotels and restaurants in Holland, and helped to manage a wine importation business, his heart has remained in France, serving as a link and spiritual guide between the French, and visitors interested in the best of wine and gastronomy.