ALAIN PASSARD ON TASTE

By Crash redaction

ONE OF THE MOST RESPECTED CHEFS IN FRANCE, ALAIN PASSARD HAS RESTORED PRODUCE TO ITS NATURAL PURITY. WITH THE DELICATE TOUCH OF A COUTURIER, HE QUILTS HIS MENUS TO MATCH THE SEASON, SERVING NOTHING AT “L’ARPEGE” (3 STARS FROM MICHELIN) BUT PRODUCE AND HERBS GROWN IN HIS OWN ORGANIC GARDENS. TO PROMOTE BMW’S ECO-FRIENDLY LINE OF BMWI ELECTRIC VEHICLES, PASSARD BUILT A TEMPORARY ROOF GARDEN AT THE PALAIS DE TOKYO. AS HE TEACHES US HOW TO LIVE IN STEP WITH THE SEASONS, PASSARD IS REBUILDING THE BRIDGE BETWEEN HUMANITY AND NATURE.

What do you think about the fact that produce of all kind are now available all year round?

You can’t throw every season into the same dish. You can’t pair spring and summer with fall and winter. When I started using seasonal produce, it was obvious right away that it worked, it was fantastic. It was exactly what I had been missing at the time. Fifteen years ago, I was completely lost, I kept thinking I could use whatever I wanted whenever I wanted.

Where did your ingredients come from before you started your garden?

I went to markets, where produce may come from anywhere around the world or any kind of farming method: soilless farming, out of season, tons of pesticide. That’s not what nature intended. You can grow a tomato in just fifty days with soilless farming, while in my garden it takes five months.

Do you think nature has all the answers?

Definitely: a salad with tomatoes keeps you hydrated during the summer, and when the winter freeze comes, our bodies need hot things like parsnip soup. That’s what nature puts in the ground in these seasons: root culture. The best cookbook of all time was written by nature. I’ve entrusted all my creativity to nature, and it works.

So not everyone can have their own garden?

A lot of people have gardens. For most of them it’s a hobby that’s more or less casual. I work on a totally different scale: we produce forty metric tons of produce per year for the restaurant and the produce baskets I sell.

You never use pesticide?

We put together a fairly complex ecosystem: we used garden ponds to grow bacteria, redid all the embankments, and planted shrubs and trees. This way we attract animal life that does the work pesticides are supposed to do: nature creates the ecosystem. And we also rotate our crops. Just like with wine, good produce comes from good soil. I want to create a grand cru culture for produce.

When did your idea come together?

My restaurant, “L’Arpège”, was a rotisserie all throughout the 2000s. Then there came a point when I simply ran out of ideas for meat: I needed to add some color to my kitchen. The only solution was to turn to produce, so I jumped right into a product I had completely neglected for twenty-five years.

And now you serve hardly any meat at the restaurant?

Practically none. Our menus are almost entirely vegetarian. It’s the kind of cuisine that offers the most creative possibilities. It’s the most artistic precisely because it’s based on the rhythm of the seasons and this idea of proximity with nature. It’s a magical feeling when you find good ingredients that are in season. But it’s also a hefty investment: I bought two little farms that had been abandoned, some horses, since we don’t use tractors, and I have ten gardeners and a driver to deliver fresh produce to the restaurant every day. When you come for lunch at “L’Arpège”, you know the ingredients were still in the ground that morning. At the same time, we’re bringing a forgotten artist back into the spotlight: the gardener, with his keen senses, his caring hand, and the way he observes and listens to nature.

What do you think about the recent sanitation scandal in the meat industry?

 Those companies were simply dishonest: we have no right to cheat people when it comes to nutrition. We’re already cheating people when it comes to seasons. How can we ever expect to turn back and do the right thing now that we have hundreds of hectares of greenhouses in Spain, Morocco, and Portugal?

Do you think the public will start to take a greater interest in these issues? Do you think things are going to change at all?

 That’s the goal, but we’re still moving in the wrong direction.

Nevertheless, there is a lot more interest in cooking with the media and TV work that some chefs have been doing…

 It’s an extremely artistic business, especially when it comes to vegetarian cuisine. Sometimes it’s even fairly similar to painting. When I toss my vegetables into the pan, it’s like I’m holding a paintbrush.

Do you only have one restaurant?

 Yes, and it’s a little pet peeve I have with my colleagues in the business. I like being with my team, my customers, and everything we do is personalized. People come to see an artist at work, to see chefs preparing their meals, so it’s important for chefs to actually be at their restaurants. A great chef takes care of his restaurant and everyone in it.

How many dishes do you serve per day?

 We can sit fifty covers per service, so one hundred in all every day. It’s not too big. I’ve got nearly one employee for every cover, since there are 45 of us on staff.

Do you get the impression that the niche has disappeared for restaurants that fall somewhere between restaurants like yours and chain restaurants?

 It’s upsetting that we’re no longer able to serve good meals in small restaurants, which is still possible in Spain and Italy. France is the epicenter of quality cuisine… Why have we lost touch with that tradition?

What do you eat when you travel?

 I’m fortunate enough to be able to cook wherever I go. It’s true that I very rarely go out to eat when I’m traveling.

What made you decide to team up with BMW and their BMWi campaign?

 It fits in quite well with my values. And I also think it’s a great idea to pair French cuisine with a major automaker, because we share the same dynamic: we love doing what we do and doing it well, as BMW has done with its latest designs. We both use quality materials, create pleasing textures, and follow a concept. Everyone wants to know what BMW is doing. The company has built up a following through its innovation, its attention to detail, and its constant effort to improve its cars. All this comes back to one thing: creativity, just like in the kitchen. We both aim to constantly reinvent ourselves.