A beach club is a seaside venue that rents out sunbeds and umbrellas and serves food, drinks and music, so that a day at the beach slowly becomes an afternoon party and sometimes a long lunch.
The French Riviera supplies the founding legend, and this one is documented. In 1955 the film crew of Roger Vadim’s And God Created Woman, starring Brigitte Bardot, was shooting on Pampelonne beach near Saint-Tropez. The de Colmont family, who had a wooden cabin there, cooked meals for the cast and crew. Saint-Tropez’s tourist office records that the cabin was hosting the crew in May 1955, and the family’s makeshift canteen grew into Club 55.
Patrice de Colmont, who grew up on that beach, later took it over. Countless beach clubs have since copied the recipe, proving that the key to a glamorous beach is a good kitchen.