'When I wake up in the morning, I have a good cup of green tea. This is important fuel for this piece of machinery [points at his body]. Green tea is almost an inspiration for me. It represents the first taste sensations of the day, the first scents, and it is important they are pure.
I arrive at [L'Arpege] at 8.30 or 10am, sometimes noon, depending on appointments I have in the outside world. When I get to the restaurant, I make my first rounds of the kitchen. I take a walk through all the stations to see how we did the night before. Then I'll look at the products as they arrive, including the vegetables that come from my gardens in Fille-sur-Sarthe and Normandy.
Each vegetable has its own ideal micro-climate, which is why we have gardens in two regions of France. We are still learning about how to grow the best-tasting greens and legumes using only organic methods.
I also look at the seafood that comes in and try to co-ordinate it with what we have available from the night before. At L'Arpege, there is no refrigeration system. I practise the concept of zero stock. It is a challenge to calculate the amount we order, cook and serve to fall to zero at the end of each night but it is a guarantee of freshness and quality. It's part of the battle to preserve the original beauty of ingredients.
Back in the kitchen, I like to review the happenings of the night before - specifically looking at the cooking method and seasoning of different dishes. We might have had some feedback on a fish dish, or I'm disenchanted with another dish - things are constantly in the process of change.
One thing I look for in my kitchen staff is elegant gestures. I'm very vigilant about precision of the hand. In cooking, one should aspire to concision, beauty, elegance, refinement and finesse. At L'Arpege, I prize hands that can play lightly with food, in the seasoning, in the way the ingredients are handled, in the way anything is done. It shows respect toward the products that we use. I'm always watching my cooks.