How the innovator of modern French cuisine stays inspired and hungry for the kitchen.
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Alain Ducasse. Photo by Laziz Hamani.
One would be hard pressed to find a chef more prolific — or lauded — than Alain Ducasse. Known colloquially as a chef’s chef, Ducasse has opened more than three dozen restaurants around the world over the course of his four decade career. He holds a total of 21 Michelin stars, more than almost any other chef in history.
Raised on a farm in the French countryside, Ducasse eschewed the preferences of his family and went his own route, training under some of France’s most storied chefs before taking the reins of his own restaurant, Le Louis XV, at the Hôtel de Paris in Monaco. Within a few years, the Michelin committee took note and his star took off, landing him in vaunted venues in Paris, London, New York, Tokyo, and beyond.
In 2013, Ducasse opened his first Manufacture, a specialty workshop dedicated to the most authentic expression of coffee and chocolate. His commitment to preserving the traditions and artisanship around culinary products is celebrated Assouline’s The Art of Manufacture, one of more than a dozen books that Ducasse has authored.
We caught up with the standard bearer of French fine dining to understand what fuels his process, what inspires him, and what keeps him coming back to the kitchen.
How did you first become interested in cooking, and how did you begin your career as a chef?
I decided to become a cook in my early age, against the wishes of my parents, who would have preferred that I take over the family farm. I was fortunate to be trained by great professionals like Michel Guérard, Gaston Lenôtre, Roger Vergé and, the most important for me, Alain Chapel, who was one of the chief pioneers of Nouvelle Cuisine.
In the spring of 1987, I opened Le Louis XV, the restaurant of the Hôtel de Paris, in Monaco. Three years later, the restaurant received three Michelin stars — my first such honor. I was 33 year-old. I consider that the beginning of my career.
You’ve opened several restaurants and authored a dozen cookbooks. At this point, how do you go about conceptualizing a new dish? Do you riff on a recipe you already know, or start from scratch, or approach it in a different way?
We run almost thirty restaurants and change their menus — completely or partially — at least every two weeks. It means that we are constantly creating dishes. Therefore, creating a new dish can’t be something which happens by chance. The rhythm of seasons is the greatest source of inspiration, since our cuisine is respectful of nature.
What about a new restaurant? How do you come up with the idea for a restaurant, and how do you go about taking it from a concept to a full fledged establishment?
The idea always starts from the location: first the country, then the region, and finally the city. Tokyo and Kyoto, for instance, have different culinary cultures that have to be taken into account. I also consider location in a much more precise way, taking into account the street where the restaurant is located and even the building itself. A restaurant facing the bay of Napoli does not call for the same sort of ambiance as a restaurant in the century old Hôtel Meurice, in Paris. In other words, each restaurant has to tell its own, genuine story.
How do you like to begin your days? Would you call yourself a morning person?
I am a morning person. I’m also an evening person and an every moment of the day person.
Are there any rituals that you rely on to stay creative?
I feed myself with everything I can grasp: books, reviews, conversations with people I meet and with my executive chefs as well as the artisans and producers I rely on. I always have a pen and a piece of paper with me to note down ideas that are popping to my brain. It’s the best way for me to keep track of them.
Where do you go to get inspired?
Markets are certainly some of my favorite destinations. Wherever I go, I always keep a slot in my diary to spend time on a local market. It’s a great way of getting the know the flavor of a place.
Are there books, works of art, albums, or other sources that help your creative process?
Once I have settled on a story that a restaurant must tell, I share it with the executive chef I have selected to oversee that restaurant. Then, the main source of inspiration becomes the conversation I have with this chef.
How do you like to wind down at night?
Relaxing home, with my family.