Chef Name: Grégoire Berger
Age: 31
Title: Chef De Cuisine at Ossiano Atlantis The Palm.
Awards:
“The Best Chef” #23 Top 300 The Best Chef Awards – 2018
“Power 50” Caterer Middle East #04 – 2017
“Best Seafood in Dubai” -“Time Out Awards” – 2018
“World Luxury Restaurant Awards” Best Seafood Restaurant in the World – 2017
“BBC Good Food Awards” Best Fine Dining – 2017
How old were you when you started cooking professionally?
I was 16 years old.
What’s your earliest and fondest first memory of food?
My mother’s ‘healthy’ rice cracker. Why? Because it was one of the worst things that I have ever eaten (laugh).
Which chefs inspire you most and why?
Yannick Alléno for his style and personality and for his strength in bringing French cuisine to another level.
What are your two favourite cookbooks and why?
Sweet Marx, the pastry cookbook of Thierry Marx, because of the construction of the book and the level of the recipes, and also the cookbook of El Celler de Can Roca for the history and the amazing recipes!
Which two ingredients could you not live without?
Hibiscus flower and buckwheat seeds. I love both for their distinctive tastes and characteristics.
What is your favourite comfort food to cook at home?
My wife’s couscous, the traditional Moroccan dish.
If you could eat at any Michelin star restaurant in the world today, where would it be and why?
Effervescence in Tokyo, as I had my best experience ever there. Both the food and the service were really impressive.
And who would you take as your guest?
My daughter, to show her what I’m doing and to be able to explain to her more about myself and my story.
What do you look for in a good chef?
Passion and a sense of how to welcome people. You cannot be a good chef without loving to give your guests a warm welcome.
What advice would you give to chefs starting their career paths now?
Work with the best and care about products. Dedicate your life to this work and be passionate as much as possible. It is a gift to be a chef, and we have to be grateful for it.
Gregoire Berger is Head Chef at Ossiano Restaurant at the Atlantis Palm in Dubai.
Website: www.atlantisthepalm.com
Address: Ossiano Restaurant, Atlantis The Palm, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Telephone: + 971 4 426 1360
Instagram: @ossianodubai @gregoire.ossiano @atlantisthepalm
Twitter: @atlantisthepalm