Philippe Duc
How did you get into cooking? 'I [started with] baking cakes and tarts with my mother at home when I was eight. In France, on the first Sunday in January, we make traditional pancakes and cr?pes for the family. I often helped my mother to prepare the food and fell in love with the kitchen.'
How did you come to work with Alain Ducasse? 'In June 1999, after completing my military ser- vice, I moved to Paris and started with the Alain Ducasse Enterprise as commis chef under Jean-Francois Piege at the Michelin three-star restaurant Alain Ducasse. Then, in 2003, I worked [as a teacher] in the pastry section of Ducasse's professional culinary school. I followed Piege to Les Ambassadeurs at the Hotel de Crillon then went back to work with Ducasse. My most recent stint was as executive chef at Spoon in Mauritius.'
How did you approach teaching? 'I viewed this tenure as an exchange of experiences and information between me and my students. It was a nice feeling as we learned about other people's points of view. This experience has made my job as executive chef at Spoon [at the InterContinental, Tsim Sha Tsui] easier. My kitchen assistants here are experienced and I can ask them questions. I can show them how to do various tasks rather than tell them what to do all the time.'
You have speciality pastry certificates in chocolate and confectionary. Do you prefer making desserts? 'Chocolate is one of my favourite things - I have a sweet tooth and can't live without dessert. It's important that a meal be complete - from appetiser to dessert. A nice dinner must be finished off with an interesting dessert. But preparing main courses gives me more flexibility. I can adjust the amount and variety of seasonings and be inventive in putting together a dish. With pastry, one must follow the recipes accurately as there is no room for mistakes in the final product. I can only be artistic and creative in the aspect of presentation.'
Do you like Hong Kong food? 'I like to have a proper sit-down meal so I've not yet tried the street food. My favourite item so far is roast pork belly with crispy skin. It's fascinating to taste the different layers of textures - the skin is crunchy while the meat is tender and smooth. For dessert, it has to be Hong Kong egg tarts.'
Is there a cuisine you would like to study? 'Japanese food has a strict procedure for handling fish and precise stages in preparing a meal. I would love to learn about these guidelines and processes. It's a cuisine that originates from the heart. Every cuisine has something interesting to teach even if the food is not familiar to our palate.'
What else is on your to-do list? 'It's vital as a French chef to have good wine knowledge. I would like to learn more about wine from our chief sommelier, Nicholas Deneux.'
