ProfileFrench chef in Hong Kong on how Joël Robuchon ‘made me a chef’, how Alain Ducasse is always eating, and why the devil is in the detail
- Alexandre Viriot, chef de cuisine at Popinjays at The Murray hotel, was tutored by legends Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas and Alain Ducasse in Russia
- He tells Bernice Chan that technique and precision are essential, and says monkfish is one of his favourite fishes, as you can cook it like a piece of meat
“My paternal grandfather was a restaurateur [on the Spanish island of] Ibiza. He had my father and his siblings work in the restaurant. Then they moved to Nantes, France, where my father met my mother.
“My grandfather decided to move to Dallas, Texas, and my parents moved there, too. I think the opportunity was there back in those days. There were a lot of French people watching the television show Dallas, so it was like the big American dream. My mum learned how to make pastry there.
“When I was a kid, I just wanted to play outside. But when I was around 12 years old I liked being around my mum when she got dinner ready. What really drove me into the career was when we moved back to Nantes around 2000, when I was 17 years old, and I cooked for my younger sister because my parents were busy in their Italian restaurant.
“I was also in the kitchen with my dad prepping. Sometimes he would call me when I was out with my friends and tell me to help make tiramisu.”
What training did you receive?
“I did an apprenticeship in a small restaurant in Nantes when I was 17, where I learned the fundamentals for two years. My goal was to train in France and then go back to the United States. I wanted to work in Paris, but the week before I was supposed to start work at La Tour d’Argent, I slipped and fell on a rainy day and broke my hand.