Pierre Gagnaire on sustainability in fine dining: ‘I’m not going to deny myself something just because it came from a bit far away’
In a wide-ranging interview, the multi-Michelin-starred French master often called the best chef in world talks about balancing environmental concerns, his so-so childhood and marketing for millennials and Gen Z
Pierre Gagnaire’s entire life has been about cooking. In 1964, at the age of 14, he had his first apprenticeship in pastry-making at Le Nelson, Saint-Étienne in east-central France; then with Paul Bocuse in Lyon and at Chez Juliette under Jean Vignard. This was followed by stints at different restaurants in Lyon, and military service on the warship Surcouf from 1971 to 1972. The French chef later worked at InterContinental and Lucas Carton in Paris.
After two years of backpacking around the Americas, from Quebec to Acapulco, he was offered a job in the US, which he had to turn down because his father asked him to return home to join the family business, the one-Michelin star Clos Fleuri near Saint-Étienne.
“It wasn’t an unhappy childhood, but it wasn’t a very happy childhood either,” recalls Gagnaire. “I got into this profession because I was the eldest in the family, so I had no choice and I started working very young. But I didn’t have any incredible dreams either. I was a rather wounded child, joyful but sad, with the capacity to guide people, to be the engine. I very quickly understood that I had the ability to lead people and have them follow me on a project.”
He accepted his fate without passion, submitting to familial expectations, although, at that time, cooking was far from becoming his vocation. That all changed in 1978 when an article by French food critic Jean-François Abert made him realise that his cooking could evoke emotions, create bonds and give meaning to life.
Now he spends all his time in his kitchens, as the head of his eponymous flagship three-Michelin star restaurant on Rue Balzac in Paris, which was an immediate success, and a galaxy of establishments in locations such as London, Las Vegas, Tokyo and Hong Kong, not forgetting his collaboration with the Fouquet’s brasseries worldwide. His restaurants around the world have won 13 Michelin stars.
Gagnaire is at the forefront of the fusion movement, serving modern French cuisine with a twist. While other chefs tout their sustainable credentials, and the Michelin Guide has gone green with its newly-minted sustainability award, Gagnaire believes in food that is made via ethical and environmentally-friendly means, but refuses to renounce the use of certain ingredients.
“It’s a difficult question to answer because, of course, we’re all for it,” he says. “We use very little plastic. But then you have to find the right balance and be honest about it. Do we have to deprive ourselves of pineapple or passion fruit? There’s a danger.
“Behind that, there is also the economy because it supports people’s livelihoods. So I’m 100 per cent for it because first of all, the people I work with, I choose the best and I pay them well. I won’t buy Kobe beef or an exceptional pig from Japan, as we have very good products in France. We receive deliveries from Île-de-France, the Southwest, Alsace, Brittany and the Périgord, but I’m not going to deny myself something just because it came from a bit far away.”
Praising Italian-Argentine chef Mauro Colagreco’s efforts to make his three-Michelin star Mirazur the first plastic-free restaurant in the world, Gagnaire says, “Total respect. As he is a good communicator, he said it before the others, but he is right to do it. It’s good because people talk about him, as his voice carries weight today.”