‘The word about sustainable gastronomy is out but now is the time for action’: Alain Ducasse on eating with a conscience and what still motivates him
One of just two chefs in history to have been awarded over twenty Michelin stars, Alain Ducasse is a true legend of the industry. Henry Coldstream chats to chef Ducasse ahead of the launch of his new memoir about overcoming challenges, his role as a mentor and what the future holds in terms of sustainable fine dining.
‘The word about sustainable gastronomy is out but now is the time for action’: Alain Ducasse on eating with a conscience and what still motivates him
One of just two chefs in history to have been awarded over twenty Michelin stars, Alain Ducasse is a true legend of the industry. Henry Coldstream chats to chef Ducasse ahead of the launch of his new memoir about overcoming challenges, his role as a mentor and what the future holds in terms of sustainable fine dining.
As we sit down in the private dining room of his three Michelin-starred restaurant at The Dorchester, Alain Ducasse starts effusing to me about chocolate. One of the chef's more recent ventures, Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse is now sold across three sites in London, with a store having recently opened in Borough Yards. ‘We take our chocolate making just as seriously as everything else we do,’ I’m told, and I’m soon presented with a selection of immaculately made chocolates to try. ‘It took us years to get these right. We do everything ourselves from the roasting of the beans to producing the chocolates in Paris.’ You might expect a man who has accumulated a total of twenty-one Michelin stars over the past forty years to be thinking about starting to slow down, but if his enthusiasm about his latest chocolate shop and, in fact, the whole of our conversation, is anything to go by, quite the opposite is true.
Ducasse is over in the UK for the release his latest book ‘Good Taste: A Life of Food and Passion’, which he describes as both ‘a memoir and a manifesto’ telling the story of his upbringing, exploring his rise to culinary greatness, and peeling back the curtain on his ethos and approach to food. ‘I didn’t write the book just to say what I’ve done,’ he says with a smile. ‘It’s about what’s next. That’s why I didn’t want to call it a biography - it’s about sharing knowledge.’ But it would be amiss to not at least touch on the career of a chef whose name is often uttered in the same breath as the likes of Joël Robuchon, Michel Roux and Gordon Ramsay.
Born on a farm in southwestern France in 1956, Ducasse grew up enchanted by the produce surrounding him but the idea of a life spent working on a farm didn’t appeal, and instead, despite having never eaten in a restaurant until the age of twelve, he began his journey to becoming one of the world’s finest chefs. ‘Part of the reason I probably chose not to take over the farm was because it was too much labour,’ he smiles, ‘but over the years, I’ve realised that becoming a cook was far more labour than I thought it was going to be!’ Fast forward fifteen years and, having trained with culinary legends including Michel Guérard, Roger Vergé, Gaston Lenôtre and Alain Chapel (who he describes as his four masters), Ducasse had won three Michelin stars for the first time at restaurant Louis XV in Monaco. In Good Taste, he recounts the moment he found out that he’d achieved this feat, saying that his initial delight was quickly offset with thoughts of ‘What next?’. And it’s this attitude of always looking forward, that sets Alain Ducasse apart.
‘I’ve never had a problem with motivation,’ says Ducasse, who in 2005 became the first chef ever to have three restaurants which held three Michelin stars at the same time. ‘I’m almost addicted to coming up with new ideas and then trying to turn them into a reality. We haven’t opened a restaurant on Mars yet but we have done food for astronauts on the International Space Station. When the Concorde was still flying, we cooked on board, meaning that at the time, it was the fastest food on earth! I’m fascinated by these kinds of projects, particularly when they present a challenge. You never lose because even if you don’t succeed, you’re learning. You’re acquiring knowledge.’
With thirty-four restaurants across three continents, a culinary school and his aforementioned chocolate business forming just part of his empire, it’s fair to say that his unrelenting drive has served him well. However, despite his endless accolades and stars – which, he tells me, still matter just as much to him as they did at the start of his career – it’s Ducasse’s commitment to, and championing of vegetable-led cookery that seems to be most important to him. Grounded in an obsession with produce and nurtured by his upbringing on the farm, it’s something he’s been leading the way in, particularly in the world of fine dining, for many years now.
His philosophy of Naturality – described as a cuisine centred around fish, vegetables and grains, which respects both the earth and the people – is at the core of each of his restaurant menus, but spreading the word about sustainable cookery is just as important to Ducasse as practicing it. ‘From a very early point in my career, I’ve felt that vegetables could become a humanist movement,’ he explains. ‘And since then I’ve been trying to lead this movement. It’s not about encouraging people to cut things completely out of their diets – I’m not a vegetarian, after all – but it’s about eating with a conscience. Eat fewer animal proteins but of a higher quality.’ It was with this in mind that he recently launched the first ever sustainable gastronomy summit in Monaco, where chefs, scientists and producers came together to discuss how people can make a change. ‘The panels were very down to earth and, as well as delivering their own experiences, gave tips that everyone can put into practice. The fact is that the word about sustainable gastronomy is out but now it’s time for action. You can no longer say that you didn’t know!’
Ducasse’s desire to encourage positive change within the industry for generations to come plays into a broader obsession with the idea of teaching and sharing knowledge – something he discusses throughout Good Taste, with reference to both his culinary education and his own ventures. ‘Everything in our restaurants and shops, in the books and encyclopaedias I publish, and in the culinary schools, is connected by the same desire: to nourish, teach, impart, search, and share the food of the earth,’ he says in the opening pages of the book and he expands on this to me. ‘Everything I have learnt, I have shared. Why? Because I believe you can only grow if you’re generous with your knowledge. For example, I’ve always tried to provide chefs with the tools needed to develop their own cuisine , so I’m very proud when people like Clare Smyth say that I helped them develop a culinary identity.’
It’s one thing having numerous records and accolades to your name but it’s Alain Ducasse’s role as a thought leader and educator in the world of sustainable fine dining that truly set him apart and will ensure he remains a legend of the industry for years to come. And there’s still plenty to come from the chef, with current plans including the redevelopment of Paris’ historic Maison de Peuple into what he describes as ‘a global culinary centre with a focus on vegetables and sustainability’ which will double up as Ducasse’s global headquarters, and also a new restaurant opening in Rome next year. After that? Your guess is as good as ours but there’s no doubt that before too long, the challenge of a new project will have tempted him once again.
Good Taste: A Life of Food and Passion by Alain Ducasse is out now
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