The visiting superstar chef wants haute cuisine to be simple, affordable and understandable to everyone
INTERVIEWING ALAIN DUCASSE IS A little like interviewing a head of state. Days before, strict guidelines on protocol and acceptable behavior are given: the wearing of IDs, the length of time allotted each interview, the acceptable camera angles, the type of questions one could ask?and couldn?t.
It?s enough to intimidate a seasoned journalist, but then the man is a supernova in a galaxy of star chefs, with an enterprise of his own. He?s the only chef with three three-Michelin starred restaurants (in Paris, Monaco and London). He employs more than 1,400 people in over 20 restaurants and inns worldwide, and has three schools in France. His team at Alain Ducasse Foundation also has the distinction of creating dishes for the astronauts at the European Space Agency.
At this point, he has probably earned the right to have his own Communications Department make such demands.
On the day of the interview, Ducasse walks into the atrium of Enderun Colleges accompanied by Dr. Lance Masters, the provost of Enderun Colleges, Chef See Cheong Yan, Thomas Nommer, Enderun?s international program manager, Chef Marc Chalopin, and interpreter Anna Austria.
He sits unsmiling and listens casually while, first, Dr. Masters, then Chef See and Nommer give their speeches. It?s as if they?re the front act for him, warming up the audience before he starts his own performance.
Strong advocate
When finally he talks, it?s in his native French language since his English, he explains, is not so good.
?I am happy to be here this afternoon,? he starts. He thanks Enderun and Dr. Masters for their warm welcome and expresses pleasure at seeing Enderun?s ?magnificent building.?
The partnership of the Alain Ducasse Formation with Enderun, which he says he?s proud of, is a sign that ?we are attaining our objectives.? A strong advocate of mentoring and shaping chefs, he sees the partnership as ?building something extraordinary together.?
He himself became one of the youngest chefs ever when, at age 16, he started his career through an apprenticeship with Chef Michel Guerard, and later with Roger Verge.
?So I had to work harder and faster,? he recalls, ?though it was difficult to surpass those who were older than me.?
A few years later, he began working at Chapel for Chef Alan Chapel who, he now says, taught him many of the essentials. From Chapel, he says, he acquired two key elements in this work: rigor and perfectionism.
By age 25, he had earned his first two-Michelin stars while working at La Terrasse. By age 33, he has become the youngest French chef to receive three Michelin stars. It has been a stellar performance ever since.
Aside from mentoring, Ducasse also sees his vision as an endless endeavor to make haute cuisine simple, affordable and understandable to everyone. Because, after all, a restaurant is first of all a place where one goes to eat.
Important issues
Other issues that are important to Ducasse:
The environment: For him, cuisine does not exist without nature. A cook has a responsibility to nature because he relies on it for his work. He must pay attention to what he offers in his restaurant, so that consumption is balanced with sustainability and the preservation of biodiversity.
The strict application of French techniques. This includes the use of excellent products, the right seasoning, perfect cooking, and perfect harmony and accompaniment.
But, though French cuisine has its roots in heritage, this should not hinder a dialogue with other cuisines of the world.
The integrity of cuisine. He is against globalization in general, and against globalization of cuisine in particular. While we should try to influence other cuisines, we should not let ourselves be influenced by other cuisines, he says. Countries must preserve their own culinary identity. This goes for the Philippines, too.
He believes Filipinos should not try to copy the cuisines of neighboring countries, but should prioritize and preserve their own culinary identity.
