50 years of cooking: Meet the Best Chef in the World

Chef Pierre Gagnaire of Reflets in Dubai reflects on his journey through the culinary world and why a restaurant is so much more than just its chef

For someone who has achieved so much during an illustrious career behind the stoves of many an award-winning restaurant, French chef Pierre Gagnaire is probably the starkest departure from fame and celebrity fortune. Apart from a few cookery books, he has no TV show, no supermarket product endorsement or a movie theatre experience. His place, he firmly believes, in the kitchen. Chatting with the chef at his namesake Choix Patisserie and Restaurant at the Intercontinental Hotel Dubai, Festival City - just a short elevator ride from his signature Reflets fine dining experience - perhaps the most descriptive characteristic one could ascribe to him is humility, mixed with generous portions of affection and seasoned with a dash of contagious laughter. It's disarming, to say the least, but indelibly charming, especially when the 64-year-old chef talks about his brigade as not just a team, but his 'family'.

Photos: Supplied by Intercontinental Dubai Festival City
Speaking about his first Christmas in Dubai (last year), he says, "I'm not just here for the food or the menu, I'm here to spend time with my 'second family'. It's an important time of the year and it's my way of thanking them for sticking with us all these years," says Pierre. A family that cooks together stays together according to him, referring to some members of his team that have travelled with him to his restaurants across the world in Tokyo, Las Vegas, London, Berlin and, of course, Dubai. In fact, family was what influenced Pierre's culinary career.

VOILÀ,A RISOTTO: Chef Pierre Gagnaire rustles up a quick and delicious risotto with his head chef Francois Xavier Simon
Born in 1950 and the oldest of three siblings, it was pre-determined at a young age that Pierre was to become the successor to his family's business - a restaurant. "I had a tough childhood and I wasn't particularly interested in cooking," he says. "It was normal, at that time and in our generation, that when the family has a business that the oldest would take it over when he was of age. It was not my choice. It wasn't terrible, but finally, one day, I found that I wanted to do more. something for myself." he recalls. For the young 16-year-old, cooking was a way to meet new people, travel and a profession where one strived for quality. He never went to culinary school - "There weren't many schools you could go to learn to cook back then," he says. "It was more about working as an apprentice and learning on the job."
This year, Pierre celebrates cooking for 50 years! "It's not bad, eh," he quips and laughs heartily. Today, he has three Michelin stars to his name for his flagship restaurant in Paris, and even his local efforts at Reflets haven't gone unnoticed - it has won Restaurant of the Year at the Time Out Dubai Restaurant Awards three times. But, perhaps, the greatest honour came last year when the French industry magazine conducted a poll of the world's best Michelin-awarded chefs to determine the 100 Best Chefs in the World. Pierre was number one; in other words, the best chef in the world. But he plays it down, in his characteristic humble style. "The award means a lot, coming from my peers, but the chef is just one of the many elements that go into making a dining experience truly magical." Unsurprisingly, he says he felt the same when he won his very first Michelin star.
"I was happy, of course," he says. "It was special because the city I worked in (St Etienne) was very tough at the time. There are a lot of great restaurants there." He considered himself lucky to get recognition like that from the famous guide almost immediately after working for himself. "I had the possibility to go my own way. I was very happy." But, despite the critics and the reviews, the dining room was mostly empty, which led to some disillusionment. "It's never a good thing when the dining room is empty. It was a complicated time for me, but things looked up in 1996, when I came to Paris," he says. Things looked up, indeed, with Pierre winning more and more accolades for his bold new takes on French cuisine. "The awards are important, of course, but it's all about teamwork. A good restaurant is a sum of all its parts. It's not just the chef and his skill, but the service, the ambience, the management, everything. It's not enough to be a good host or a good chef, the whole package has to be presented well," he says. "It may be my name on the restaurant, but the key to its success is the team, from the head chef (Francois Xavier Simon) to the servers to the waiters.
"Voilà, what we do, it's an art. Our work is a love affair and we're creating a dialogue with our guests through the entire dining experience, from the minute they walk in and are greeted, to their meal," he says with all the fire of a seasoned chef. "There is emotion on every plate." That part has not changed, he adds, but other things in the restaurant business have. "The pay is definitely better," he says laughing. "The image and prestige is also elevated. When I first started you'd walk into the kitchen not knowing when you'd finish; the work was such. Now, it's more precise, it's like any other job." But it's also harder, he adds, because there's more pressure, and a lot of competition. "Everybody wants to be on top and it's a business that picks up very quickly. People must be on the ball when it comes to managing the business, the costs, the relationships with suppliers, kitchen brigades."
He drills home again why a dining experience is more than just about having a good chef. "Everyone can get a recipe today. It's available at the click of a button, in a matter of seconds. I think we make too much of a big deal these days about chefs," he says, alluding to the TV celebrities we idolise - something he has been very cautious to avoid. "It's never just the chefs. The quality of service is equally, if not more, important. Making emotional connects with the guest is very important - when a guest walks in and they're greeted like an old friend, that immediately has an impact on their dining experience. And it's important that restaurants remember that." He also throws in his take on the fusion restaurants in Dubai: "Fusion is confusion. That's not me, that's Paul Bocuse!"
Surprisingly, he's not as fussy about his own dining experiences. "When it's good, it's good, non? Chinese, Indian, I'm not particularly fussed with food. It just depends on what I'm in the mood for or the season. At home I would cook vegetables or eat oysters. I don't mind a tandoori chicken every now and then. You must have the pleasure of enjoying your food. The most important thing is to be hungry! When you're hungry, it's a real pleasure to eat. Nothing tastes good if you're not hungry," he adds.
For budding chefs, Pierre offers up this advice: Patience. "Passion comes with time. It's also important to seize the opportunities that present themselves and make the most of them," he says. "Be yourself - that is crucial. Feel comfortable with what you're doing and keep time to grow and understand where you stand, without which, you will lose your identity," he concludes. But not before quipping, "Voilà, this is not advice, it's life, non?"
rohit@khaleejtimes.com

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