One of the True Greats- Chef Alain Ducasse
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You would be hard put to find a person in the culinary industry who does not recognize the name of Chef Alain Ducasse and his contributions to the culinary world.
Chef Ducasse is a great French chef and a shrewd restaurateur who owns and operates numerous Michelin-starred restaurants worldwide. He is also a chef who has discovered, taught, and trained good chefs into becoming great chefs, the restaurants of which have been named as among the top 100 restaurants in the world by S. Pellegrino. However great and world-renowned a chef Chef Ducasse is, he had a very humble start in his culinary career.
Chef Ducasse was born on the 13th of September 1956 in Castel-Sarrazin, which can be found in the southwestern portion of France. He was born and grew up in a farm, so he has learned to appreciate fresh, local, and seasonal food products and ingredients at a very early age. His first journey towards his career as a chef began when he was only 16 years old when he became an apprentice at the Pavillon Landais Restaurant, which is situated in Soustons. He also trained and apprenticed at the Bordeaux Hotel School.
After his apprenticeship, he found work in the kitchen of the Eugenie-les-Bains where he got to work under the tutelage of the great French chef, Chef Michel Guerard. He also received training from Chef Gaston Lenotre each summer.
It was in 1977 that he landed a job as an assistant to Chef Roger Verge, a legendary chef who heads the kitchen of the equally legendary Moulin de Mougins. It was also with Chef Verge that he got to study and learn about the Provencal culinary techniques and cooking methods, a culinary skill that he became so famous for.
After a year’s stay with Chef Verge, he then went to Mionnay to work for Chef Alain Chapel’s restaurant. Chef Ducasse’s two-year stay under the tutelage of Chef Chapel created a very deep bond between the two chefs. In fact, Chef Ducasse recognizes his mentor as his “spiritual master.”
In 1980, Chef Ducasse received an offer from Chef Verge to become a chef in the kitchen of L’Amandier, which is in Mougins. He accepted the job but then left a year later to become the head chef of Hotel Juana’s La Terrasse in Juan-Les-Pins. It was at this restaurant that he earned two stars from the prestigious Michelin Guide in 1884.
Another big break came when he was offered a chef des cuisines position in Monte-Carlo by the Societe des Bains de Mer. He was to become chef de cuisines of the Hotel de Paris’ Le Louis XV. Of course, he said yes to the opportunity. It proved to be a good move because, in 1990, barely three years after he first took control of the kitchen, Le Louis XV earned three stars from the Michelin Guide. It instantly made the restaurant the first restaurant ever to have received the much-coveted three stars by Michelin Guide.
In 1995, he opened another inn/restaurant in Provence called the La Bastide de Moustiers, which also earned its own Michelin star in 2002. In 1996, he launched the Alain Ducasse Restaurant in Le Parc Sofitel Demeure Hotels, and barely a year after it first opened its doors to the public, the Michelin Guide awarded it three stars.
By the late 1990s, Chef Ducasse has carved a name for himself in the industry as the first chef ever to have earned six Michelin stars, three from the Les Louis XV and another three from his Alain Ducasse Restaurant.
His success in the culinary world allowed him to open more restaurants not only in Europe but worldwide as well. Because of his fame and popularity, many aspiring young chefs sought his tutelage that it soon became a must for young chefs to become an apprentice and train under Chef Ducasse, especially if they want to have an edge over their competitors. It was also through this that Chef Ducasse discovered talented chefs and sent them worldwide to become head chefs of his popular restaurants.
Chef Ducasse is not only busy with his restaurants, but he is also busy with his books and cookbooks as well as consultancy jobs. He is also very active in his cooking schools where he teaches and trains aspiring chefs become professionals. You could say that Chef Alain Ducasse has conquered the international culinary world.
Chef Alain Ducasse’s Courgette Risotto with Chanterelle Mushrooms and Ham
Ingredients:
- 100g butter
- 100g onions, thinly sliced
- 100g carnaroli rice
- white wine
- 1.5l hot chicken stock
- 300g courgettes, cut into dice, discarding the spongy innards
- 50g Parmesan, grated
- red wine vinegar
- 2 slices of Parma ham, halved
- 700g chanterelle mushrooms
- olive oil
- the juice of 1 lemon
Procedure:
1. Heat the butter, reserving a couple of knobs, in a large pan and sweat the onions, add the rice and stir until shiny.
2. Deglaze with a dash of white wine and slowly pour in the stock little by little, reserving a couple of tablespoons.
3. Season, and when half cooked (8-10 minutes) add the courgettes.
4. After a further 10 minutes, take off the heat and stir in a knob of butter, the Parmesan and a drop of red wine vinegar.
5. Leave for a minute so that the rice absorbs all the liquid.
6. In the meantime, fry the Parma ham in a little oil until crisp.
7. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft.
8. Add the reserved stock and deglaze.
9. Add a knob of butter, a dash of olive oil and the lemon juice.
10. To serve, spoon the risotto on to plates and pour the ham, mushrooms and juices on top.
Image Credit: theeatersguide.com
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Australian Chef- Matthew J. Goudge is the mastermind behind the formation of the ProChef360 platform.
Fun…, a recipe. Thanks Matthew.
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