Chef Michel Troisgros: Simplicity And Refinement, Part 2

This is the second in a three-part interview with chef Michel Troisgros. You can find the first here, and the third here.

The Daily Meal: You have boutiques and a restaurant in Tokyo, but have the recent Fukushima nuclear accident and aftermath of the Tsunami affected your business there?
Chef Michel Troisgros: It is a concern but we have to live with it, though of course it is at the back of my mind for a few split seconds every day. All we can do is continue doing what we do, working with suppliers who can guarantee the ingredients are coming from a safe environment and place in Japan. My chefs, manager, and patissier are mostly French, and living there because they love it and are very involved with Japan. In fact it is not just a project for them but their life since some have Japanese spouses and are raising families there. 

I do travel quite often to Tokyo and wonder if one of my sons will want to live there in the future how I will deal with it. I am not sure if I would like to see them there for a long stretch of time. Hopefully the government is doing its best to deal with safety issues. Nature is unpredictable anywhere but regardless Japan is an incredible place with a very sophisticated culture. They have strong traditions on one side and the most sophisticated technology on the other; it is a paradox in a way.

Why is there such a strong culinary connection between the French and the Japanese?
It goes way back in the past and there is a culinary bridge with exchange of knowledge between the French and Japanese chefs. Just after World War II ,French chefs traveled there doing promotions and discovering new ingredients and at that same time many young Japanese chefs came here to learn. There was sharing of passion for the table on both sides along with a mutual pleasure of creating great cuisine.

You spoke in San Sebastián a few years ago about how the plating style changed in France after the grand chefs traveled to Japan. Can you elaborate on that?
It happened over a long period between the sixties and continuing until today. It has been the influence of the aesthetic the French chefs imbibed from Japanese cuisine. Not Kaiseki cuisine but everyday Japanese cuisine and sushi. A caricature of this could be "Less is More." The simplicity of composing a plate with fewer ingredients, but these ingredients are chosen with a clever vision to create a perfect balance. French cuisine was all about techniques and memories and was too elaborate and hard to perfect. The Japanese influence resulted in simplicity and some Japanese techniques like marinating with soy, ginger, yuzu, sake, wasabi, etc. which came into use making the French cuisine what it is today.

Over the years you have embraced a simpler style in cuisine and is that that simplicity hard to achieve?
Yes, simplicity is the hardest point to reach. Simplicity along with refinement, especially when no one has done it before, is difficult. Simplicity is also the representation of your true opinion in an institution like ours here at Troisgros. It looks simple to the guest but it is complex and hard to achieve, since you need to have the capacity to communicate your concept, be proud of it and stand by it. You have to consider not only the time to create, but the time to compose, to elaborate and express. Picasso or other abstract artists after painting landscapes, figures went gradually towards monochromes and abstractions. Refinements and paring down continued in their concepts and work and I think that is what is happening in cuisine.

Does this process get easier with age and maturity?
I do believe that it does and experience and maturity have enabled me to move and express myself better. The other aspect of my life that has changed me is my children. The transmission of ideas between us has had an influence on me.

Now that you are moving to a brand new location in 2016, will a lot of memories be left behind?
It was a big decision considering the history, economy and social connections. We have a sentimental attachment here and on the other hand there is also risk involved in this decision too. Since I look at the future with the knowledge of the past I decided to go ahead for my children. I want them to breathe new air, not be bound by the weight of tradition and the past. I know how that feels since it was my life, not that I did not appreciate it or feel very lucky to have that. Today I am free but for many years I was bound by family history, tradition and even guests who expected that from me. It makes your life feel heavy without freedom to imagine or be dynamic.

In this context the choice of moving makes sense. We are only moving the location but still staying in our familiar region. It is only seven kilometers from here and the restaurant and hotel will be in the center of the parcel of land with gardens and capacity to plant fruit, vegetables etc. We are moving from a station to a garden [laughing]. Initially it will be hard with nostalgia about the past but I am aware of it and anticipate that will happen after leaving this place.

Will the dynamic of the kitchen change?
My son Cesar is very involved in this project, in the design, circulation etc. and since it is an old farm we have to organize everything with respect to the future. Cesar is very mature for his age, maybe more than I was at 28. At that age I was a chef but still playing and not so focused and not thinking about the future. I am sure the first year will be a period of adjustment. I am also aware that it will change the way I cook and will certainly change my daily life. So I anticipate change within myself in this period.

These days a chef has to be in this position of doing it all and besides cooking also organizing the culture around him. I am a chef who still cooks and not the kind that opens a new restaurant every year. I am a chef who likes being in his home and welcoming guests to give them our best as a family. I am doing that here but at the new place I want my sons involved and besides me. I feel that they should be free and not be weighed down by the Troisgros legacy. It will be a new beginning for all of us.

This is the second in a three-part interview with chef Michel Troisgros. You can find the first here, and the third here.