[Interview] "Cooking is Art Filled with Emotion"... French Master Chef's Praise for Korea

Interview with French Culinary Master Pierre Gagnaire
"The Taste of Korean Fermented Food Is Captivating"

"Korean cuisine was like opening a new door."

'Master of French cuisine' Chef Pierre Gagnaire recently reflected on his first impression of Korean food in an interview with Asia Economy. He said that the complex flavors of fermented vegetables, including kimchi, have a unique charm not experienced in Western cuisine. Chef Gagnaire explained, "The fresh yet rich fermented taste of kimchi, made by fermenting vegetables, is a sensation absent in French cuisine, which uses lemon or vinegar. It reminded me of Buddhist cuisine in the way it uses fresh vegetables to create subtle flavors, making it even more appealing."

Chef Pierre Gagnaire is being interviewed on the 26th at Lotte Hotel Pierre Gagnaire Seoul in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

Chef Gagnaire is known as the 'chef of chefs' and is regarded as an innovator who has written the philosophy of French cuisine. After opening a restaurant bearing his name at the Hotel Balzac in Paris in 1996, he earned three Michelin stars within a year. He has maintained the three Michelin stars for 27 years since then. Currently, he operates restaurants worldwide, including in Paris, London, Seoul, Shanghai, and Dubai.

In Korea, he opened the French restaurant 'Pierre Gagnaire Seoul' at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, in 2008. This restaurant is currently led by Chef Fr?d?ric Arrieta, a prot?g? of Chef Gagnaire. Chef Gagnaire visits Korea once or twice a year to inspect ingredients and menus. He visited Korea again last month after a year.

Below is the Q&A.

- What special menu is featured at Pierre Gagnaire Seoul?

▲The restaurant is always filled with special menus. Every day feels like Christmas. We strive to maintain the highest quality and enjoy our work. The special course commemorating this visit was inspired by the spring sea of Jeju. It features Jeju tilefish and premium Korean beef, enhanced with the finest black truffle. Since it is spring, we also prepared a refreshing menu with salads including flower mushrooms. It is a menu that fully conveys Pierre Gagnaire’s identity and philosophy.

Chef Pierre Gagnaire (left) and Fr?d?ric Arrieta, Executive Chef of Pierre Gagnaire Seoul (right), are being interviewed on the 26th at Pierre Gagnaire Seoul in Lotte Hotel, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

- You are called the 'Picasso of the culinary world.' Why is that?

▲Many people call me that because I myself do not consider myself a businessman but an artist. Cooking is like creation. I always think about what is new. Food must contain softness and emotion. Like a film or music, delicacy must be included for customers to feel it. Although I couldn’t come to Korea for three years during the COVID period, Chef Fr?d?ric and I met every year to discuss and decide menus. Amazingly, after working together for 14 years, we share the same philosophy about food and often produce similar results. You could say my philosophy is reflected in Chef Fr?d?ric’s cooking.

- If you could describe your cooking in one word, what would it be?

▲Emotion. That word explains my cooking philosophy. I believe our job is not simply to cook but to convey our identity and make customers happy. The food must contain softness and feelings of love. While we work to earn money, it is not just about that. If customers are happy, we are happy too.

- What do you do in your free time outside of cooking?

▲Actually, I spend most of my time in the kitchen. (laughs) Outside of that, I exercise, visit museums or operas to see artworks, and read books of all kinds. It might seem like a boring life. Mostly, I work with chefs in the kitchen. Personally, I travel to meet chefs around the world. During this visit, I plan to meet Chef Kim Dohyun of 'Ttuituamang' restaurant, with whom I worked in Paris for 10 years. He currently runs a Michelin one-star restaurant in Korea.

- Who was the most memorable guest?

▲Many people like Bob Dylan and Bill Clinton have passed through. Among them, Bob Dylan is the most memorable. It’s not just meeting him as a guest but personally liking his music. (laughs) Through the repetitive melodies in his music, I feel passion and uniqueness.

- Does art inspire your cooking?

▲I received visual inspiration from Colombian artist Fernando Botero (Colombian painter and sculptor). Art greatly influences our lives. Even when I look at a cup, I don’t see just the cup itself but try to see various aspects. When I developed the 'Hong Sam Souffl?' in Korea, I thought about how to use ingredients unique to Korea, which led to the creation of the dish.

- Recently, the Netflix series ‘Black and White Chef’ has gained great popularity in Korea.

▲I personally feel that Korean customers have become more curious about food. When I opened the restaurant 17 years ago, Korean customers were very strict about taste because fine dining was a new experience. But recently, I see that customers easily accept changes in food and their tastes have evolved. More than half of the recent restaurant visitors are young customers. In Korea, people in their 20s and 30s enjoy fine dining, which is different from France.

- What do you find attractive about Korean food as a chef?

▲The subtle taste of Korean fermented foods like kimchi, made by fermenting vegetables, is attractive. Discovering this taste in Korea was like opening a new door. In France, lemon or vinegar is used, but they don’t have the fresh and complex flavors of Korean fermented foods.

- What is the secret to the recent popularity of K-food?

▲From a European perspective, K-food is very intriguing. Beyond art, film, music, and technology, many people focus on gastronomy. K-food is rustic. It uses a lot of fresh vegetables, which makes it appealing like Buddhist cuisine.

- What food gives you comfort?

▲What comforts me is a piece of bread spread with olive oil and high-quality butter, along with cheese and wine, fresh oysters, and smoked ham eaten separately.

- What food would you recommend to comfort guests?

▲A simple champagne or wine before the meal can help lift the mood.

- What keywords do you think will become important in the culinary world in the future?

▲'Passion' and 'uniqueness.' Nowadays, there are many fine dining restaurants. Among them, restaurants with the chef’s unique identity will succeed. Customers will continue to seek the chef’s uniqueness. Korea’s advanced technology allows chefs to work in a more comfortable environment. In France, 95% of chefs work without air conditioning. In the past, Korea cooked with charcoal, but now cooking is done easily using electricity. Technological progress has clearly improved the cooking environment compared to the past.

- Climate change has made it difficult to source ingredients.

▲I expect tuna to disappear within 10 years. Recently, chefs have been using a species called 'sardina.' However, it has also become difficult to find due to high demand.

Chef Pierre Gagnaire (center) and Fr?d?ric ?rier (left), Executive Chef of Pierre Gagnaire Seoul, are posing in the kitchen of Pierre Gagnaire Seoul at Lotte Hotel Jung-gu, Seoul on the 26th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung