An Interview With Bertrand Grebaut Of Paris' Septime, Part 2

This is the second installment in a two-part interview with chef Bertrand Grebaut. You can find the first installment here.

What was the most marked difference between working for Joel Robuchon and Alain Passard?
The comparison is quite difficult. On one had you have a chef (Alain Passard) who is in his kitchen almost every day, who only owns one restaurant (L'Arpège). On the other a chef (Joël Robuchon) that owns restaurants all around the world who has commissioned people to oversee the management in his different establishments. That is the Robuchon method, no direct contact with the chef; you strive only to obtain perfection on a technical level while staying close to tradition. Your apprenticeship is almost military, empirical, and this without any real explanation. Meanwhile with Passard there is less of a sense of routine, you are encouraged to develop your sensibility you end up obtaining a broader vision and understanding more. 

Where did you learn more and actually begin to define your style?
At L'Arpège, it's where I learned the most and where I realized that I had more affinities with a fruit and vegetable oriented cuisine rather than the technical cuisine that you often find in palaces.

How important is service in a diner's complete experience?
The service has a tremendous importance. The waiters are the ambassador of the kitchen, they are the last link and notably they are the ones that will ultimately define the tone of your restaurant. In our case it is what distinguished us from others.

What distinguishes you from your peers?
Je n'en sais rien [I don't know]... Maybe it's because I had other professions and interests before becoming a chef. I chose this path on account of my love for food. My vision of my profession is one of pleasure and not of brash spectacle.

This business is difficult for families. How do you find a balance?
My girlfriend has the same profession; we have a mutual understanding of the stakes. Time off is always a happy moment. 

Any food congress that is your favorite? Who is the best speaker you have heard?
By far MAD FOOD CAMP organized by René Redzepi. The speaker that captivated me the most was Ron Finley. He elevated the crowd and imbued hope. He defied everyone and decided to grow vegetables and edible plants out in the streets in his ghetto, to reinstate hope to the people of his neighborhood. He compels respect.

How important is it to train and learn the basics of cuisine?
The basics of cuisine are as important as a solfeggio is to music. All cultural and technical fundamentals are necessary to be creative. Especially when you hold in your grasp the French gastronomic heritage. It is a hefty heritage but consulting it with all the respect that it's due, gives you the possibility of extracting brilliant ideas.

Social media and copying: How do you feel about that since images of food are all over Instagram and Twitter instantly?
I am as fascinated as I am terrified! It is at the same time positive and damaging for our profession. I encourage the public and clients to restart taking pleasure in the moment shared around a table and stop consuming photos. As a professional it can be a great platform for broadcasting but personally, I haven't managed to cross that line.

Does this encourage cooks to be constantly moving ahead?
The situation is double edged; yes, produce and techniques are shared easily and rapidly, but on the other hand it does not help the independent expression. We are slowly moving towards standardization of tastes.

What do you do on your day off?
Let's be realistic, all my free time revolves around one question: Where and what am I going to eat?

What are your favorite cities in the US for food, and are there any restaurants you love to visit?
It has been a while since I have been to the West Coast, I would love to go back. I'm more familiar with NYC; it's a city full of life. I enjoy eating at Mission Chinese Food; its cuisine represents freedom of expression. I might disappoint you but I must say Steak 'n Shake, best burger ever!

Are you in agreement with using global products or influences from other cuisines or cultures in your food?
We work as eco-responsibly as possible. So even if my olive oil comes from Italy you will never find pineapples from Costa Rica on the menu at Septime. Although now, with the ease we have to be anywhere in the world in less than 12 hours, it's great to be able to incorporate certain culinary techniques and visions into our cuisine, using them and molding them to better our knowledge, whereas still respecting their origins.

During your recent participation in the Gelinaz shuffle, did you taste your way through Fulvio Pierangelini's menu before finalizing yours?
Yes, I did! I had the chance to taste the menu of the restaurant at the Hotel de Russie. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to taste Fulvio's cuisine when he was at the helm of the Gambero Rosso. Having said that, I had an extraordinary reception in Fulvio's apartment; he left me a full fridge! This was an incredible insight into his world. [pullquote:right]

What was the most interesting part of this concept of going off into an unknown kitchen, and would you do it again?
I'd do it again in an instant! The most interesting challenge was to test my capacity to adapt to quite extreme conditions. I found myself in an enormous and old fashioned hotel kitchen, in which I had to establish and motivate a small team in a very short time.

What was your team's experience with Rodolfo Guzman of Borago who was in your kitchen during the shuffle, and what unexpected ingredient did he introduce into your kitchen?
The team found the experience really interesting, and also quite physically rigorous! Rodolfo genuinely played by the rules – he stuck with the ingredients that we use on a daily basis. His determination to integrate both his world and ours – his adapted knowledge within the framework of Septime produced results that I would never have expected, for example, a blend of butter and olive oil or citrus fruits and vinegar – now known as "Bad Bertrand".

You knew a month earlier where you were going, so were you Rodolfo and Fulvio communicating with each other?
We exchanged purely logistical emails. The concept of the shuffle required that we would arrive without pre-judgments of one another's work, so we tried not to talk about the kitchen.

What were your Septime guest's comments about their experience with the guest chef? 
The dinner was really positively received. I think the clients especially enjoyed the show – and particularly the duck press. I feel like Rodolfo and I collaborated, even though I wasn't there!

What are the questions you get asked that are repetitive and boring?
There are many. The one that comes back often is "How do you define your style of cooking?" It is something I am faced with defining every day; it's a constant challenge and it's hard to articulate without falling into the triviality of the subject.

Any plans of expanding your operation beyond Septime, Clamato, and the wine bar?
We have many ideas although for the moment that is all they are.

This is the second installment in a two-part interview with chef Bertrand Grebaut. You can find the first installment here.