Pierre Gagnaire: the world is a garden

by Joe Mortimer | June 1, 2010

Flamboyant French chef Pierre Gagnaire talks about the international flavours that captured his imagination as a young chef and what makes him tick today

We’re sitting in the bar area of Reflets at the Intercontinental Hotel Dubai Festival City when Pierre Gagnaire finally arrives. He’s been tearing around the backroads of the UAE all day, visiting farms and gardens where he hopes to source locally-grown produce for his menu.

But the hectic tour du pais has done nothing to dampen his spirits; Gagnaire comfortably slouches on a cushioned sofa, keen to talk about the culinary and spiritual journey that has brought him to where he is today.

We were hungry to find out how Gagnaire – one of France’s most celebrated chefs and restaurateurs – embarked on his hugely successful career, which has seen him open 11 restaurants and win the hearts of diners in eight major cities in the last 20 years.

Gagnaire confesses that his love of food and cooking was not something he was born with: “In the beginning it wasn’t a passion. I was always a chef, but the passion for my job began about 35 years ago, when I started working for myself,” he explains.

“I began to see how it would be a very good opportunity to fulfil my life through my career. As a chef you give pleasure and you give love and, in turn, you receive positive energy through your food.”

It was during this period that he created what is now the inimitable Pierre Gagnaire style of cooking. He confesses to always having been a bit of a food snob – turning his nose up at “finger food” in favour of a good, simple meal that you can take your time over, served at a table.

Gagnaire grew up in a family that knew its way around a kitchen. His father, Jean-Claude, was also the proud owner of a Michelin Star restaurant, and the young Pierre found himself following in his father’s footsteps from a young age.

But it was through his experience working in restaurant kitchens in Paris and Lyon that he truly cut his teeth as a chef.

After years working in celebrated restaurants across France, where he learned his art from chefs such as Paul Bocuse, the young Gagnaire took over management of his father’s restaurant – Le Clos Fleuri – in Saint Etienne in 1976.

In 1980, he launched his first restaurant, Aux Passementiers, which was awarded a shower of accolades over the next 15 years, including a three star rating in the Michelin Guide in 1992.