Pierre Gagnaire on the French way of doing things

The iconic Pierre Gagnaire earned his Michelin reputation by shedding the conventions underlying French cuisine and spearheading the fusion food movement with dishes such as sautéed shrimp with shrimp hummus, and roasted lobster flavoured with lemon, ginger and baby pak choi.

The French chef, who has a restaurant, Reflets Par Pierre Gagnaire, at InterContinental Dubai Festival City, addresses some myths about French cuisine.

French food is fatty and unhealthy

PG: It doesn’t have to be fatty! I understand that sometimes French food may not be the healthiest. But that also depends on the portions people eat. In France, meals are all about balance. You have to find the balance between light and heavy meals or a light main course and heavy dessert and vice versa.

It’s pretentious

PG: French cuisine does seem pretentious at times, but not any more. We have changed perceptions with our jobs. Authentic French cuisine has its roots in foods made by peasants. There was nothing expensive about that.

It is bland and boring

There’s always a strange animal involved somehow

PG: [Laughs] That’s an English perception, just like we have preconceived ideas about other countries. It’s funny.