Feasting with friends

Michel Roux not only has the clout of three Michelin Stars to his name, he is also the most senior guest chef involved in the just-finished Jumeirah Festival of Taste.

The 65-year-old, who has won countless awards and sold more than a million cookery books worldwide, catered exclusively for Pisces restaurant on three consecutive nights during the six-day celebration of culinary expertise.

As the festival drew to a close, I met up with Roux to find out how it went.

Aura

Unlike some of his younger counterparts, the seasoned chef has an aura of serenity and the humility of someone with nothing more to prove.

Clouds of white hair soften an already friendly face where laughter lines reveal a man with an innate joie de vivre.

Speaking with a gentle but surprisingly deep voice, he tells me he likes to do one or two food festivals a year because they are a good opportunity to meet other chefs.

"It's about working alongside chefs who have a different way of looking at food. To bring chefs from different parts of the world like they have done was a very good idea. It shows that Dubai is a city that is open for the best, without any labelling - if you are good, you come."

Work and play

While he revealed the first few hours were difficult as it took time to get to know an unfamiliar kitchen and a new team, Roux described the festival as a mixture of a lot of hard work combined with equal amounts of play.

Although he was already "great friends" with Gary Rhodes, the event enabled Roux to make new acquaintances in his field.

He says: "The Festival has brought me good friends and we all felt very close. Some of the chefs I had never met before and we are now good friends. Sam Leong is a wonderful guy and I am going to see him in Singapore.

"Of course it was work, but it was work with wonderful comrades and warmth. It was absolutely magical."

Tough job

In light of the line-up, I ask Roux why there are more male chefs than female chefs in the industry.

He says: "You find more male chefs in a busy restaurant but you find a lot of women cooking at home or in small restaurants.

"Living and working in a busy restaurant for long days and leading a brigade of 20 chefs is a tough job - physically you need a lot of stamina.

"If you want to start a family, it's not very compatible. I've got three girls working in my kitchen out of 20 chefs. What is important is they love what they are doing and cook as well as the male chefs, if not better."

His menu

In order to offer the best experience for diners during the event, Roux cooked three star Michelin cuisine in the same way it is prepared at his restaurant, the Waterside Inn, in Bray, England.

His connoisseur nights during the festival offered a mouth-watering selection, including lightly poached fillet of sole filled with smoked salmon and shrimp mousse, and served with a Champagne sauce.

Also on the menu was duck breast with lemon and thyme, lobster with a port sauce and beef stew slowly cooked in red wine and served with a garnish of mushrooms, onions and carrots.

Simple dish

For his own taste buds, Roux loves to eat fish steamed with just enough ginger to lift the flavour.

But what does a man so celebrated for his abilities in the kitchen enjoy cooking most of all?

"Roast chicken," he says. "It's a very simple dish because you have the best ingredient in free-range chicken and you can see the change of colour when you are basting it every five to 10 minutes. I love the smell of it. It's so simple but at the same time it is magical and it is golden. A nice roast chicken when you cook it is divine."

Jean-Christophe Novelli

The French chef based in England says he would love to open a restaurant in Dubai as it is definitely "the place to be". Speaking of the festival, he says: "It was an amazing experience with a fantastic selection of chefs. My cooking class sold out in two days - that compliment is better than an award."

James Martin

This English chef, of Ready Steady Cook fame, says: "It's been incredible. To have this many Michelin starred chefs all under one roof  - I have never seen it in my 20 years of cooking. It's been hard work and we have been in the kitchen for 18 hours a day."Despite not getting to bed before 4am during the festival, Martin kept going thanks to "eye drops, Red Bull and chocolate".

Gary Rhodes

Described as "the chef's chef", Rhodes says: "I had a fabulous team who were so responsive, I couldn't ask for more. When you look at the chefs here, it's not a bad package. There is a good standard in Dubai already but hopefully this will inspire other chefs here to raise their standards even more."

Sam Leong

The driving force behind developing New Asia Chinese Cuisine is impressed with Dubai. "During the whole event the hospitality was beautiful and the weather was very warm. I had my first helicopter ride - which only happens if you are in the National Service Army or if you are rich - so it was a lifetime experience for me."

Hans Haas

This Austrian-born chef will definitely return after his experience during the Festival of Taste. "From the first moment when I was welcomed, everybody helped me and tried to make me feel at home. I was overwhelmed by Dubai. There's so much going on. Someone told me they are building the Burj Dubai at a rate of a floor a week. I didn't believe it so I watched and it is actually true!"

Ben Sisley

Top Australian chef, Sisley, says: "Coming from Melbourne, which is a sleepy town compared to Dubai, I am amazed at the size of everything. It would be very hard to stage something like this on this scale in Australia. You just wouldn't have the labour or the resources to do it."

Yannick Alleno

The celebrated chef of Le Meurice, in Paris, enjoyed working with his friend Jean Paul Naquin at the Burj Al Arab and with the other chefs on the last night.
"The most important thing in this kind of event is to be with friends and to make a connection with them. It was interesting and it was beneficial for me because I tasted different things and there is always more to learn."