Sustainable gastronomy is the future, says Macau executive chef Julien Tongourian
- Frenchman’s food at three-Michelin-starred Robuchon au Dôme and two Hong Kong Joël Robuchon restaurants embraces traditional practices
When Julien Tongourian, the French executive chef of three-Michelin-starred Robuchon au Dôme in Macau, and L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon and Le Jardin de Joël Robuchon in Hong Kong, came to Asia 10 years ago, he thought he would be staying less than a week.
His primary mission at the time was to help the legendary French chef Joël Robuchon – after whom the three restaurants are named – prepare a gala dinner in Macau.
However, Tongourian ended up being recruited by the culinary maestro, who died in 2018, to work at the restaurants, where he remains today.
His trip to Asia has proved a life-changing experience. “I worked a lot in Paris, and a little in Versailles,” he says. “I came to Macau with only my French experience. I didn’t know what to expect when I arrived on the job.”
He quickly noticed an interesting contrast between the typical palates of the region’s Asian diners and people in his home country. “[They] eat less salt, less sugar … It’s a little different from France,” he says.
There are also differences between how the two culinary cultures handle ingredients. “In local restaurants, you see a lot of [fish] tanks, you can choose your fish: your fish is alive,” Tongourian says. “In France, all the fish is on ice … very different texture.”
In Macau and Hong Kong, it is commonly believed that a live fish kept in tanks will be a tastier ingredient for dishes, rather than one that has been chilled. But some chefs in France choose to store freshly caught fish in the fridge for a few days to help it “age” and intensify the flavour.
With the help of his team, Tongourian has continued to explore and learn about new ingredients that Asian diners expect. He says: “My sous chef showed me Japanese beef when we went to [eat] teppanyaki [cooked and served from a hot, iron plate]. It’s the same as butter, there is no need for chewing.”
While people in France are also discerning about eating beef, they are more accustomed to leaner breeds of beef cattle that they prepare depending on the different recipes and levels of rareness.
For Tongourian, cooking is all about how one “respects” the ingredients. “We can order the best Japanese beef and prepare it in [a] French style,” he says. “It’s not about fusion; you make updates with what you have on hand.”
He gradually discovered that finding local substitute ingredients for French produce was not as difficult as he had imagined. “When I [first came] here, we ordered a lot of produce from France because I knew French produce,” he says. “I ordered the carrot, I ordered the turnip, because it was the season in France.
“Step by step – because I eat at home with my family and I go to the markets – I saw produce in the market very similar to what’s in France.”
Nowadays, Tongourian sources his ingredients both from France and from reliable local suppliers he has identified. Other than being able to access a wider variety of produce and increase flexibility in the inventory, it also helps to reduce the carbon footprint and potential for wastage at home and at his restaurants.
“I have kids and this generation is very sensitive [to green practices] because in school they teach about sustainability,” he says. “My kids help me to have another eye on the world.”
However, he also notes that eating locally and seasonally is not something new – it was once a traditional practice, only to have lost its significance over time, so he is keen to embrace old habits.
“I want to take out all the industrial ingredients in food,” he says. “The older generation before me didn’t have them. To me, holistic and sustainable gastronomy is the past – and the future – of the kitchen.”
Watch the video to see how executive chef Julien Tongourian prepares two classic French dishes using local ingredients.