TIARE FLOWER
There’s a gardenia that grows on Motu Tane called the Tiare, the national flower of French Polynesia. I have 60 or 70 bushes in my garden. When it’s humid, the smell of this flower greets you as you walk along the beach at night.

KÉRASTASE SHAMPOO
I change my shampoo all the time, but I like the clean scent of Kérastase. I don’t like scents that are too complicated. I prefer the smell of clean: washed floors, soap and water.

FRENCH CANDLE
Cire Trudon are very old French candle makers—they did a scent for Marie Antoinette—and I love Roi Soleil, their candle modeled on the scent of the Hall of Mirrors, at Versailles. Its mix of French oak, pine and citrus is unusual and quite beautiful.

CHAWANMUSHI
I’m mad about Japanese food. I’m vegetarian and I really like the steamed egg-custard dish chawanmushi. It’s silky and a little bit salty. Sometimes they’ll add ingredients like sliced mushrooms. You can certainly smell the egg.

BEESWAX
I have a beautiful wood table that I polish with beeswax. I love the smell of natural beeswax—it’s so chic and homey. It reminds me of an old house.

PLUM WINE
I love this Japanese liqueur made from soaking plums in sugar and a clear spirit. I find it very clean—it has a lightness and a plummy sweet scent.

COCONUT
There are about 1,500 coconut trees on Motu Tane. We have fresh coconut every day. I’ll eat the flesh and drink the juice. I could eat just coconut and be the happiest man in the world.

ROAST CHICKEN
Growing up in the south of France, my mother and grandmother used to cook wonderful roast chicken. The chickens came (and still come) from a farm next door. We’d finish with crepes. It was a regular but special familial Sunday meal.