Alain Ducasse
Every indicator points to Alain Ducasse having an extra helping of talent under his hat. He cooks dishes no one else could and serves them in ways no one else would.
Chef Alain Ducasse reveals what tastes best during the Autumn. The results are almost always the same. Wherever he opens a restaurant, crowds and critics flip out. Ducasse comes by Michelin stars the way most people come by tires. His work has changed the world of eating as well as the lives of many of his proteges.
It looks like talent -- but Ducasse says it isn't. In fact, the chef says he doesn't really believe in talent.
"Sixty percent is the quality of the product," said Ducasse. "Thirty-five percent the technique, 5 percent if you have just a little talent. That's my base. And not every day -- we don't have talent every day. That's the key, that's the key of my business."
With restaurants across the globe, Ducasse is the only chef to be awarded three stars in the Michelin Red Guide in three cities. The classically trained French chef now heads the Plaza Athenee restaurant in Paris, the Louis XV restaurant in Monaco, a restaurant bearing his name at the Dorchester in Londonand two restaurants in New York, among others.
Restaurants:
- Plaza Athénée , 25 Avenue Montaigne, 75008 Paris
- Le Jules Verne, Eiffel Tower , 75007 Paris
- Spoon, 12 rue Marignan, 75008 Paris
Every indicator points to Alain Ducasse having an extra helping of talent under his hat. He cooks dishes no one else could and serves them in ways no one else would.
Chef Alain Ducasse reveals what tastes best during the Autumn. The results are almost always the same. Wherever he opens a restaurant, crowds and critics flip out. Ducasse comes by Michelin stars the way most people come by tires. His work has changed the world of eating as well as the lives of many of his proteges.
It looks like talent -- but Ducasse says it isn't. In fact, the chef says he doesn't really believe in talent.
"Sixty percent is the quality of the product," said Ducasse. "Thirty-five percent the technique, 5 percent if you have just a little talent. That's my base. And not every day -- we don't have talent every day. That's the key, that's the key of my business."
With restaurants across the globe, Ducasse is the only chef to be awarded three stars in the Michelin Red Guide in three cities. The classically trained French chef now heads the Plaza Athenee restaurant in Paris, the Louis XV restaurant in Monaco, a restaurant bearing his name at the Dorchester in Londonand two restaurants in New York, among others.
Restaurants:
- Plaza Athénée , 25 Avenue Montaigne, 75008 Paris
- Le Jules Verne, Eiffel Tower , 75007 Paris
- Spoon, 12 rue Marignan, 75008 Paris
Joel Robuchon
From the legend of cooking Joel Robuchon whos empire stretches from Paris to Hong Kong comes his classic recipies that every home canmaster – The Complete Robuchon.
Robuchon is the most influential French chef of the post-nouvelle cuisine era. Since the mid-eighties, he has been called the primus inter pares of Paris’ three star chefs for his work both at Jamin and at his eponymous restaurant.
He is renowned for the relentless perfectionism of his cuisine. His food was seen as instrumental in leading French cuisine away from the excesses – and excessive reductionism – of nouvelle cuisine. In particular, his cuisine is seen as harkening back to a more authentic, even bourgeois French cuisine – cuisine actuelle – which focuses on making each ingredient taste of itself. He has mentored such distinguished chefs as Gordon Ramsay and Michael Caines and his signature dishes include a cauliflower cream with caviar and potato puree.In “The Complete Robuchon” he offers us his recipes (over 800), secrets and tips: from the perfect omelette to vegetable soup, leg of lamb to marinated mussels, to his renowned potato puree every dish is described in detail starting with the ingredients, he tells you how to clean and prepare them down to the way to hold the pan and precise cooking times. It is all here – a catalogue of the basics of French cuisine and a broad sampling of dishes that have earned the author his titles of glory and his truly imaginative recipes from L’Atelier.
Born in Poitiers in 1945, Joel Robuchon became the official chef of La Tour de France, where he learnt a variety of diverse regional techniques. At 28, he became head chef at Harmony-Lafayette, overseeing 3,000 meals a day. In 1981 he launched Jamin in Paris and within three years had received three Michelin stars. In 1996 he left his Parisian restaurant, establishing L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Tokyo. He opened another L’Atelier in Paris in 2003 and has since established Ateliers in Las Vegas, New York and London.
Restaurants:
- L'atelier de Joel Robuchon, 5, rue de Montalembert, 75007 Paris
Christian Constant
Christian Constant learned his craft from his mother in the south-west region of France. He began his apprenticeship in a local restaurant when he was 14.
Later he worked at the prestigious Ledoyen Restaurant in Paris. Seven years later, having worked every station, his aunt welcomed him to her one-star Michelin bistro “Chez Les Anges.”
After working at The Ritz, Paris, Constant became Executive Chef at The Hotel Crillon’s luxurious 2- star Michelin restaurant, Les Ambassadeurs, now undergoing a full restoration to be completed at summers’ end. It is hard to see how the new owners, of the hotel, the Starwood Capital Group, can improve on the magnificent dining room, which was the former ballroom of the duc de Crillon’s palatial home and under the watchful eye of chef Jean-François Piège. (Hotel de Crillion)
During eight years tenure Constant created a new generation of talented young chefs, proud to have worked under him.
Constant decided that although he loved The Crillon it was time to realize every chef’s dream; to open a restaurant of his own. In 1998 his dream came true and the 60 seat Violon d’Ingres opened its doors. The name, pays homage to Jean-August-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867), the French painter born in Constant’s home-town of Montauban.
All of this might not have become a reality if he had not met his wife Catherine, a Scot, who was Assistant Crew Chief Steward at the time that he was giving cookery classes on the QE2. She is now helping the Maitre d’hotel at the Violon d’Ingres’ by taking bookings, hiring staff and dealing with all the administration work. They also own Les Cocottes and Café Constant.
Restaurants:
- Café Constant, 139 Rue Saint-Dominique 75007 Paris
- Le Violon d'ingres, 135, Rue St Dominique 75007 Paris
- Les Cocottes, 139 Rue Saint-Dominique 75007 Paris
Christian Constant learned his craft from his mother in the south-west region of France. He began his apprenticeship in a local restaurant when he was 14.
Later he worked at the prestigious Ledoyen Restaurant in Paris. Seven years later, having worked every station, his aunt welcomed him to her one-star Michelin bistro “Chez Les Anges.”
After working at The Ritz, Paris, Constant became Executive Chef at The Hotel Crillon’s luxurious 2- star Michelin restaurant, Les Ambassadeurs, now undergoing a full restoration to be completed at summers’ end. It is hard to see how the new owners, of the hotel, the Starwood Capital Group, can improve on the magnificent dining room, which was the former ballroom of the duc de Crillon’s palatial home and under the watchful eye of chef Jean-François Piège. (Hotel de Crillion)
During eight years tenure Constant created a new generation of talented young chefs, proud to have worked under him.
Constant decided that although he loved The Crillon it was time to realize every chef’s dream; to open a restaurant of his own. In 1998 his dream came true and the 60 seat Violon d’Ingres opened its doors. The name, pays homage to Jean-August-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867), the French painter born in Constant’s home-town of Montauban.
All of this might not have become a reality if he had not met his wife Catherine, a Scot, who was Assistant Crew Chief Steward at the time that he was giving cookery classes on the QE2. She is now helping the Maitre d’hotel at the Violon d’Ingres’ by taking bookings, hiring staff and dealing with all the administration work. They also own Les Cocottes and Café Constant.
Restaurants:
- Café Constant, 139 Rue Saint-Dominique 75007 Paris
- Le Violon d'ingres, 135, Rue St Dominique 75007 Paris
- Les Cocottes, 139 Rue Saint-Dominique 75007 Paris
