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French chef Alain Ducasse is an eminence in the gastronomic universe. And no wonder. Ducasse has a total of 21 stars spread over his 34 restaurants, making him the chef with the most Michelin stars in the world. Considered the ‘king’ of French haute cuisine, the 66-year-old, despite not stopping for a second, seems intent on wanting to hand over his throne and his knowledge to young chefs, mainly those who work with him.
More than a business or an empire, Ducasse claims that his restaurant businesses are more “a succession of small craft workshops. Each restaurant or store tells its own story,” he stresses in a recent interview with FORBES.
“These days, my focus is on transferring my knowledge to 30-year-old chefs,” he confesses to FORBES. “I pay close attention to their evolution, coach them and put them forward.” This mission, to pass on his knowledge to younger people, and to shift the focus on himself and pass it on to them, is something he has been doing for years and works for every day.
One such example is the ‘four hands’ dinner shared by Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester restaurant in London, which although the multi-award winning chef was the host, he highlighted at all times the creations of the chefs who worked hand in hand with him: Jean-Philippe Blondet, Emmanuel Pilon “it was not a celebration of my work, but of theirs”, describes FORBES.
The chef is also fond of attending the restaurants of those who have once been his mentees, such as dining at prestigious chef Alex Dilling’s restaurant in London, he enthusiastically shares to FORBES, and thus “checking in” on another of his ‘sons’, as Dilling began his career at Ducasse’s Adour in New York.
