Pierre Gagnaire. “I paid a high price for my passion for cooking”

From his three-star restaurant (1), to Fouquet’s, with addresses in Dubai and Tokyo, eponymous chef Pierre Gagnaire has distinguished himself with his inventive cuisine for fifty years. Now 73, the chef has unwittingly risen to artist status, driven by a clever mix of work, creativity and listening. He has just added an arrow to his bow as an extra and consultant for the film The passion of Dodin Bouffant , by Tran Anh Hung. We met him at Fouquet’s Cannes, in the heart of the Barrière group’s Hotel Le Majestic (2), dressed in his trusty chef’s jacket and well-tied chokers. Mischievous, sensitive and with an undeniable taste for words, the chef returned to what fueled his creativity after launching his career at the dawn of the 1970s. A meeting.

Awakening of creativity

The eldest of the Gagnaire siblings, young Pierre’s fate was sealed from childhood. he will take over the reins of the family restaurant and be the chef. “I did this out of obligation. I told myself that I have to give it meaning, that I have to make it something that belongs to me.” Good luck, in light of the 1960s, two table companions will break his trajectory. These two critics are called Henri Gault and Christian Millau. “Paul Bocuse, Roger Verge, Les Troisgros, Alain Chappell… My elders fed them all to the guide. Gault & Millau. They were the first to put words to a meal, a sauce, an ingredient, a method of preparation. Back then, we didn’t express emotions in gastronomy. Suddenly, my perspective on cooking changed completely.” This is the beginning of the love story of Pierre Gagnaire and cooking. For the first time, he saw intellectual, artistic and creative potential.

“I remember a rare dinner I had with my parents at a Michelin-starred restaurant called La Renaissance in Saint-Etienne. I had just taken over the family restaurant. For the first time, I found myself with dishes that did not suit me, and which were nevertheless very good. I told myself that by removing or adding an element, we can completely spin the dish to make it more emotional.’

I was purely an artist for several years. I spent days and nights in my kitchen where I could rave as much as I wanted. That was the climax of my story

Pierre Gagnaire

Find a balance

Craftsman Pierre Gagnaire has given his profession an artistic touch over the years. However, finding a balance between being creative and running a successful business is not easy. “I was just an artist for a few years. I spent days and nights in my kitchen where I could rave as much as I wanted. That was the climax of my story. But I had to make some decisions just to have a working restaurant. In 1996, there was lightning. his three-star restaurant, opened in 1981 in Saint-Etienne, went bankrupt. “I paid dearly for my passion for cooking.”

Pierre Gagnaire persistently opens the doors of a new address in Paris. This time he does it differently. “To have a successful restaurant, you have to know how to listen to yourself, but also be realistic. It is an almost daily assessment of the situation. You need to bring your added value and not deny yourself while respecting what the individuals you work with want. I have the opportunity to be independent and make my own choices, but they always come from listening to others.” A few months later, he received two stars in the guide for his restaurant Michelle in the rue Balzac, 8th arrondissement of Paris.

Constantly reinventing yourself

Pierre Gagnaire has since managed sixteen restaurants worldwide and is responsible for Fouquet’s menu internationally. But then how do you keep your creativity fresh when you’re managing multiple addresses? “It comes down to a lot of little details. You need to know how to focus on the essentials while still having the ability to get your head out of the day-to-day life. You have to know how to put yourself in danger by moving forward with the times. Above all, you have to listen to the teams around you.”

Finding creativity comes primarily from others. This comes from the desire to persuade, to please, to share, to be on task.

Pierre Gagnaire

Indeed, in all his restaurants, the chef makes honesty the watchword of the teams; “I don’t surround myself with courtiers. It’s very important that we can talk openly with you.” A relationship based on transparency, which it also maintains with its clients; “It is our duty to speak honestly with clients. They come all the way to see you, they give you a certain amount of money, they trust you.”

From these exchanges, Pierre Gagnaire also draws a source of inspiration. “Finding creativity first comes from others. This comes from a desire to persuade, to please, to share, to meet the challenge. This allows me to find a form of freshness, a part of childhood that I cultivate. His creativity is also driven by something buried within him. “It’s very personal. It’s intuition, instinct, reflection. It’s also silence.” A blend that has earned eleven Michelin guide stars to date.

(1) Restaurant Pierre Gagnaire, 6 Rue Balzac, 75008 Paris. Such. 01.58.36.12.50

(2) Fouquet’s Cannes, Hôtel Barrière Le Majestic Cannes, 10 boulevard de la Croisette, 06400 Cannes. Such. 04.92.98.77.00.