An Interview with Alfred Prasad and Pascal Aussignac

How are you hoping the audience will respond to the experience?

PA: I will try and get a slice of these flavours – the point is that you have a cross culture between French and Indian food. It is more about trying to mix spices in French cuisine. It is interesting because the film is a reflection of who we are and where we are from. I am French obviously and Alfred is Indian and we are both Michelin-starred chefs which means it is all connected. There is a full interaction between the movie and us, in our life in London as well.

AP: I am hoping it will be a complete feast of the senses. That they feel transported to that little village in France and revel in that heartwarming joie de vivre the movie exudes.

Where do you find inspiration for your dishes from? Would you say you pick up most of your inspiration when travelling?

AP: Travels certainly offer wonderful inspiration. They offer an opening of the mind to new cuisines and cultures that has been a big part of my own evolution as a chef. I find the limitlessness of cuisineology very inspiring – to learn, to un-learn, to create, to evolve.

PA: Personally I like Asian food, so last year I went three times to Tokyo, Shanghai, Singapore and Bali. I have tried to understand more about the different populations living in Asia and to see where we could fit the Club Gascon or one of our restaurants there, because I believe that specialising in duck is something that Asian people are keen to eat, and to have this French touch on it. I strongly believe that there could be a space there, in Asia – more than in the States and much more than in Latin America. To me, there is a natural progression to go East, more than West.

What impact does being recognised by Michelin have on you both?

PA: Michelin pushes you. You give more because you’ve reached the level of one star. Over thirteen years at Gascon I’ve got one star and my dream is to get two stars. You know you are never satisfied, you want to do more, you want to be more precise on details and more consistent and to be even more creative even if you are already. You spend so much time with the pressure of delivering – it is an act of life – you are delivering service twice a day, and anything could happen. It is like you are going on stage with actors. It is not recorded; it is a fresh product, a live product and you need to deliver.

AP: The Michelin recognition is an added and important reward for what we should be doing anyway. When pursuing excellence, every path seems longer, harder and ensuring consistency along that journey makes it doubly so.