Alain Ducasse is a businessman but Alain Chapel is the ‘god of cooking’, says chef Frédéric Vardon
- The chef-owner of the Le 39V restaurants in Paris and Hong Kong talks about working with the masters of French cuisine
- He also explains what he means when he says Hong Kong is not China
What are your childhood memories of food? “I was born in 1967, in the town of Flers, in Normandy, France, but growing up we lived in Paris as my parents were charcutiers and caterers there. Every holiday we would go to Normandy to visit my paternal grandparents’ farm, where they raised cattle for milk and meat; 90 per cent of what we ate came from the farm.”
When did you decide to become a chef? “When I was a child I wanted to become a farmer raising cattle, too. But, when I was around 14, my father said I shouldn’t be a farmer, because it’s difficult. And, because I liked food so much, he suggested I go into cooking.”
You have worked for three chefs all named Alain – Dutournier, Chapel and Ducasse. what did you learn from them? “I worked in Dutournier’s Au Trou Gascon, in Paris, for two years. He made me understand why terroir is important. Everything was made from scratch, like foie gras, duck confit, cassoulet.
“Before I went to do military service, I worked for Alain Chapel who, for me, is the god of cooking. I wrote to all the three-Michelin-starred restaurants in France and he was the first to reply, so I went to his restaurant in Mionnay, outside Lyon. It was an amazing experience to work for him for six years because he totally respects products and nature, and it is simple cuisine.
“He said to me that opening a tin of caviar is expensive, but simple. It’s the same with white truffles and lobster. But to make a good poulet de Bresse with potatoes is very different. Joël Robuchon and Alain Ducasse are businessmen, Chapel was not – he was just about cooking.
Ducasse is a hard man, hard chef, hard businessman, but I knew him before he was a big businessman – I knew him when he only had two restaurants. It’s not the same story if I knew him now
“With Ducasse, I learned about what you need to do to make a successful restaurant. It’s not just about the kitchen, but the dining room, the design, the waiters and the cooks. I also had to look at tableware, tablecloths, tables, chairs. I was Ducasse’s corporate chef and helped him open over a dozen restaurants in Europe and Asia, including Spoon in the InterContinental Hong Kong, in 2003.