Jean-Pierre Bardery was a manager for companies such as Darty, the appliance specialists, before taking over the direction of the Jardin d'Acclimatation in the Bois de Boulogne just west of Paris four years ago. At this zoo and amusement park founded in 1860, he has revelled in expressing his hedonistic nature.

His many trips to China inspired him to open the atmospheric tea room Mademoiselle Li in September 2000, decorated by author and illustrator Hippolyte Romain. Here visitors can choose from eight varieties of Chinese teas, accompanied by salted plums (open Saturdays and Sundays only, year-round, from 11am-6pm).

How did you become a hedonist?

You don't become a hedonist, you are one. A hedonist is simply someone who is a little romantic, a bit of a dreamer, with a particular sensibility: someone who will enjoy dining on a lagoon or the sunset on the Adriatic. This hedonism can be cultivated but it also requires a special gift. You can have revelations in life. When I became director of the Jardin d'Acclimatation I said to my guardian angel, "You've been really good to me." This is a place where I've been able to let myself go, where I've come into my own in my work life. Life hands you opportunities that allow you to express your true nature. In this garden I needed to sell a dream to people. I told myself, I'll do what pleases me, as if it were for myself.

What is your definition of hedonism?

It's knowing how to take your time. The notion of time that I discovered during my four trips to China is perhaps the notion of a civilisation 5000 years old. The rat-race is a western concept. To be a hedonist is to be curious. You need to be dissatisfied, you need to go and look on the other side of the mirror. Hedonism is not something to put on display. It's having a vintage car because you have a little extra time, it's drinking a very good Bordeaux with a friend: doing things that are a bit elegant.

What is your best hedonistic memory ?
My most hedonistic memories are memories with women I have been in love with. For me nothing powerful can happen without love. When I was a growing up my parents took me to see American films every week. Women like Ava Gardner were romantic, inaccessible, mysterious. Today I still love that kind of elegance.

What advice would you give to those who would like to cultivate their hedonism?

Do what is important and not what is urgent. Take the time to be a hedonist: you need to be a bit of a false dilettante. Try to banish what is profitable to experience sharing, exchange and generosity. The real luxury of hedonism is to be free, but that means sacrificing a lot of things.

Which (living) hedonist would you most like to meet?

I would like to meet quality people, not necessarily famous people. That's a bit like wanting to meet a woman through a personals ad. It might work, but the magic is missing.

What are your symbols of hedonism?

Flower: Red roses for the loved one, because the hedonist has passion. Of course, he will include a note.
Wine: I am impressed by grands crus and I have a weakness for Bordeaux. I discovered an excellent modest Bordeaux from St-Estèphe, Les Ormes de Pez. It's a cru bourgeois. I like modest wines that are a little rough. I think there is less sharing with a grand cru that with a red Sancerre and a herb omelette.
Food: A dozen oysters and a Petit Chablis with my loved one while looking at the sea from a small hotel.

Address: I like to sample a little of everything: I have a vintage car and a motorcycle, I'll enjoy a mountain chalet and St-Jean-de-Luz in September. My favourite places are those where I have not yet been.

Music: Charles Trenet's "Jardin Extraordinaire" ("Extraordinary Garden"). I love great music but here again I have eclectic tastes. I love elegance in all things.

For you, which three objects are essential to hedonism?

I prefer to speak not of three objects but of three rules: be elegant, be elegant and be elegant.