Kitchen Coup
Au revoir, Vong. Bonjour, Pierre. Ruling the kitchen at the Mandarin Oriental’s new French restaurant, Parisian Pierre Gagnaire is a chef’s chef who has won a three-Michelin-star rating not once but twice. He tells Bruce Dawson why he plans to be very hands on.
HK Magazine: Is Pierre going to be similar to your restaurants in Paris and Tokyo?
Pierre Gagnaire: No, Hong Kong is far too unique to just pass off a copy of what works in another country. It’s going to be elegant, trendy and sexy. The way I create my menu is to dream it, pour all my creativity and passion into what I think will work in terms of French cuisine and then cook with the local staff to find out what works. It’s collaboration, not dictation.
HK: What are the chances of us eating a meal actually cooked by you?
PG: Every three months, I’ll be here for at least three weeks cooking and experimenting with the local chefs, and learning about Hong Kong tastes and the likes and dislikes of the local palate.
HK: Any kitchen disaster stories in Hong Kong so far?
PG: [laughs] Give me a few more days, we’re just opening the restaurant. But it’s through disasters that you find perfection – you have to break eggs to make a delicious omelet.
HK: Any food you absolutely wouldn’t use?
PG: I have never been a fan of insects.
HK: What does a famous chef eat at home?
PG: [laughs] It’s actually more simple and yet more complex than restaurant cooking. There are two types of cuisine: home and restaurant. It’s like Mick Jagger playing alone with an acoustic guitar and the Rolling Stones at top volume: both can be good in their own way, it’s just two different kinds of emotions; one is more pure and simple, the other brings out a whole range.
HK: Who inspires you?
PG: Alain Chapel, who is dead, and Freddy Girardet, a Swiss chef who is very much alive.