Dear qinzhi
Marco Pierre White is another awesome chef who became the youngest chef to win 3 Michelin stars n to give it away, after realizing the thing that mattered to him isn’t the stars, but cooking to enrich lives with simple basic ingredients
He is coming to Singapore on April 26 for world gourmet summit n unfortunately I will not b able to meet him personally
Still,
Look at his words.
They inspire.
Everyones has a past, MPW too, and he speaks of how it pained him , yet how important it is to work with one’s past
about the defining moment of his life, he writes movingly and with brutal candour: the death of his mother (who was Italian) from a brain haemorrhage. She was 38 and he was six. “I remember it better than I remember yesterday, she died in front of my eyes. That had a huge effect” he says.
“It has affected everything I have ever done. It’s the reason I used to go off on my own and play in the woods as a child and it’s the reason I still like to go off in the woods as an adult. I know I have craved recognition as a result of losing my mother and I know I have done some really stupid things because I did not have that stability as a child. It has been very painful looking at it in such detail but it had to be done.”
Family is important to Marco. “Good friends and family is true wealth,” says the man who had a distant relationship with his English father and three brothers and who spent much of his childhood on his own.
On the joy in cooking? What makes the job of a chef fascinating for you?
Being a chef is not a job, it is a way of life. Being a chef gives me the opportunity to show off the natural beauty of food.
Cooking is a philosophy, not a recipe, so for me it is all about passing on the knowledge I have and about using good ingredients to create simple and flavoursome dishes which can be easily recreated at home.
For me it is all about passing on the knowledge I have and about using good ingredients to create simple and flavoursome dishes which can be easily recreated at home.
In another interview, he said:
“You want to know the passions of a chef?” Mr. White said, a blaze of wild hair and wild arms. “No disrespect to Gordon, but what is his story? It’s boring. What is his motivation? Money. What is a tree without roots? A piece of wood.”
Ouch. Mr. White, 46, became the first Briton to win three Michelin stars, a seminal achievement that heralded a food revolution. But in 1999, he grew tired of “kissing my children in their beds when I left for work and kissing them in their beds when I got back.”
So he handed back his stars and retired. He disapproves of “keeping your name above the door when you are not behind the stove”
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On having mentored some of the best chefs in UK:
I have been very fortunate in my life to have some very special young men walk into my kitchen.
People like Mario Batali (in New York, who went on to earn two Michelin stars), Gordon Ramsay (three Michelin stars), Heston Blumental (three Michelin stars), Eric Chavot (two Michelin stars), Daniel Clifford, (two Michelin stars), the list is endless.
They all had something different and they’ve all gone on to do great things. And Gordon and Heston they became a member of that very elite club. The 3 star club.
Having the privilege to have those young men in my kitchen is extraordinary, seeing them at a very young age, learning their craft, learning their trade, and later in the lives, seeing them show-off their philosophy on a plate is quite special.
On good food:
Good food is simple. The more you do to food, the more you take away from it.
Mother Nature is the true artist and one just needs to cook.
Aside from this humble stock cube, what other ingredients do you consider your must-have in the kitchen? What constitutes the basic ingredients of a great kitchen?
Knorr is a fantastic product. Like anything in life, you have to know how to use it. If used correctly, it has its place in the professional kitchen.
Quality ingredients and fresh produce are basic items of a great kitchen. The problem is most people don’t know how to use it. It’s like ketchup: it’s a great sauce. The Box Tree did a sauce with Worcester sauce that was the most delicious sauce in the world to serve with beef. And the Box Tree had two stars.
most important lesson you learnt in the kitchen:
Discipline.
advice to young chefs starting out on their careers?
To realise your potential, first understand why you are doing what you are doing. What is your motivation? If you are prepared to invest the time and have the capability of a star, go and get it. But don’t lie to yourself. Be a realist: only work for something you truly want, something that’s possible within yourself.
Once you discover yourself as a person then you will be able to discover food for what it is, and cook the type of food that you want to cook. I believe the industry allows people to express themselves, better themselves and create security like no other industry. But allow Mother Nature to be the artist, and put your energies into the cooking. Get into a good kitchen, stay for five years, keep your head down and learn your trade.
He tasted success at 33 when he bagged three Michelin stars. What does success mean?
In life, if we are fortunate, we have many journeys. Walking down that road for 17 years of my life, I had a lot of experiences. I obtained a lot of knowledge and in the end I realised my dream. I think when you have a dream in life, you have to turn it into reality.
And it’s not about what you achieve, it’s actually what you do for your industry and that’s what I think is important. And when people look at me and they see my achievements with the restaurants do you know what I think? I think I did more than that. What I achieved was teaching young men and young women when they were young and inspiring them. The three Michelin stars, that’s irrelevant. And the people that gave me three stars had less knowledge than me.
If you don’t turn your dreams into reality, then you end up with regrets.
On giving back Michelin stars:
Yes, once you grow up and discover yourself as a human being you look at things for what they are. It’s just like what I am doing today to show people how they can use simple ingredients to create healthy and delicious dishes, and hopefully this will enrich the lives of families.
“I have nothing to prove. It’s like when I realized I had fulfilled my dream with my career. Then you must move on.” You almost wonder if letting go of his three stars was more traumatic than losing his wife, but those who know him well tell a different story.
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He made the decision as he makes many major decisions — clasping a fishing rod. “I caught a salmon and let it go. I realized I was being judged by people who knew less than me, and that gave me the confidence to think, ‘I should be kind to myself and do what I want to do.’ And so the next day I found myself unemployed. It was important for me to understand myself. Only then can you find happiness and fall in love.” Again, tabloids claim he has a girlfriend in America: Is he in love? “I’ve never been happier,” he said, looking away.
He prefers talking about his career, but you sense he uses this to explain his life more generally. “Nothing,” he said, “is more exciting than being a phoenix rising from the ashes.”
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life today is…?
Today, it’s about assisting others to realise their dreams. I realized my dreams as a young man and I have nothing left in many ways to prove. Real pleasure is sharing my knowledge with others and assisting them in reaching their own dreams or enriching their lives. I think when you have been given knowledge and experience, you have a duty and a responsibility to share it.
On What makes a great chef?
Firstly, they accept and respect that Mother Nature is the true artist and they are the chef. Two, everything that chefs do become an extension of themselves as a person, a part of them. Thirdly, they give you great insights into the world they were born into. The world that inspired them, and they serve it on their plates. That’s what they do, even if it’s classical.
On pple he admire?
I admire lots of people; they aren’t famous but they’re good people. It’s not what you achieve. People who can give themselves every day – they’re the people that I admire, they’re real people. The answer to your question is that I admire the real people.
On offers that would interest
I like things that are educational and inspirational. I think if you’ve been given something in life you have a moral duty to give things back. If you’ve been given opportunities then you have to create opportunities. If you’re given knowledge by people, share your knowledge. If you were born with talent, show your talent off. I like to make a difference. I came from very humble beginnings.
On privacy:
In London I’m not seen in public. I don’t go to award ceremonies or gatherings. I just don’t go because I like my privacy. I like being with my family and I like being in their company. I work very hard and I don’t have much time so I just want to be with my family or in the English countryside. I don’t take holidays.
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