The Gaul the world loves
I’VE visited a lot of restaurants in London: flashy ones, rustic ones, refined European ones, rooftop ones, flamboyantly ethnic ones and ones that closed after not very long at all. My favourite, on many levels, is Sketch – less a restaurant than a pleasure dome. I love that an eccentric man greets you and speaks in strange quasi-Irish tones and that later if you go for outside for a smoke he’ll cover your shoulders in a smoking jacket. I love that there are not one but three dining rooms, all wildly different. I love that there are hopscotch squares in permanent chalk in the entryway. And of course, that one set of toilets are white pods, and the other have diamante crucifixes on the toilet seats.
But at the core of this completely unique venture is one of the world’s most famous, successful French chefs, Pierre Gagnaire. Amid the glitz and glamour of the toilet pods, Michelin-starred food takes a starring role (for those who like such things). With a kitchen that cooks outrageously inventive cuisine that laughs at both “fine dining” and molecular gastronomy – that has no rules beyond being tasty, fun and expensive – Gagnaire has remained something of an anomaly in the restaurant world. He’s iconoclastic yet serious; playful yet utterly grounded in tradition, famous but resolutely not interested in being a TV chef.
It’s a big year for the sixty-year-old, multiple Michelin-starred Gagnaire. This year, he’s opened in Las Vegas and Moscow (he already has outposts in Asia and Dubai) and just this week, in St Tropez. I caught up with him as he ate lunch at home in Paris with his wife and translator Sylvie.
CITY A.M.: You’ve just opened in Las Vegas, Moscow and St Tropez. What’s the grand plan? A restaurant in every city of the world?
PG: There’s no actual plan. It’s just a question of opportunities and meeting the right people. It’s about following the story with partners, and, of course, there’s the attraction of the city. After all, I enjoy going to Russia and St Tropez.
CITY A.M.: Do you love London above all?
PG: I love London but I don’t come for that – I come for the people. The bond with the city follows.
CITY A.M.: Do you find it difficult maintaining your standards and your vision with so many outposts? Gordon Ramsay is an example of a chef who over-extended himself.
PG: Of course it is difficult. I won’t comment about Ramsay but I don’t have any sympathy for him. Let’s put it this way: I’ve had 10 times more offers to open restaurants than the ones I have actually done. Before signing any contracts I ask: “Do I have the right people? People I can pay well and protect?”
City A.M.: What are the next big foodie hotspots?
PG: To be honest and nationalist, the cradle of cuisine is in Europe: France, Italy and Spain, where everything started. People trained in Europe go back to their countries with that training and can express themselves in own local ingredients so there are talented chefs everywhere. Otherwise I could say South America.
CITY A.M.: Many chefs and restaurants were hit hard in the recession. What is the secret to your enduring success?
PG: There’s no secret recipe for success. You have to give confidence to the people you work with and remain an honest chef who stays in the kitchen. I cringe when I hear the word “concept” – it rings a marketing bell. Cuisine is anything but marketing – it is a daily task that you have to feed people. The food has to be good, it has to be hot. I think when people don’t take care over their families, colleagues and environment, they can’t produce a good plate of food. That’s in part why society broke down recently – there just wasn’t enough care. The same goes for cooking. For example I had a Sri Lankan dishwasher in Dubai who wanted to be a patissier and we helped that happen.
CITY A.M.: You’re known as the king of “iconoclastic” cuisine. How do you ensure your food is both pleasurable and wildly unique?
PG: Not to be pretentious, but I am a professional. I learned my job silently for 30 years – I’ve been cooking for 47 years. For 30 years I listened, watched and worked. The opposite of what’s happening at the moment with these young guys who are all about reality shows but don’t know anything about cooking. You need to work, you need to learn, you need to shut up. Then you make good food. Ok, we can make mistakes. It’s happened. But you correct them.
CITY A.M.: Does Sketch have a special place in your heart?
PG: I met my wife there! So yes, you could say it has a special place in my heart. I love it – it was the first place I opened after Paris. The concept was totally crazy; I’d have loved to do it in St Etienne [site of his first restaurant]. It’s also where I discovered English culture. And after eight years I’ve finally discovered the English sense of humour.