In the cozy and luxurious culinary space of Passion Week 2022, it is not difficult to see the image of French chef Alan Taudon chatting with diners after they have enjoyed the unique culinary journey he brings. In an exclusive interview with Travellive, Alan Taudon shared with us about the journey of creating flavors and culinary personality of a culinary artist.
Starting his career in Paris, Alan Taudon has made his mark on the culinary world map. In the capital of French gastronomy, he has held key positions at prestigious three-star restaurants such as Le Meurice, Pavillon Ledoyen and Le Cinq. And in 2018, at just 39 years old, Alan Taudon joined L'Orangerie restaurant at the prestigious Four Seasons George V hotel as Executive Chef.
Chef Alan Taudon in an exclusive interview with Travellive
If a high-class dish is like a symphony, the chef is the composer and conductor responsible for creating ideas, choosing ingredients and controlling the processing from start to finish for every dish. Executive chef - Chef de cuisine or Executive chef is the highest position a chef can reach. To become a chef, they must have at least 10 years of study and advancement through two levels including professional chef and sous chef or supervisory chef. After 3 years of professional training and 7 years of working at the sous chef or supervisory chef level, the chef can be recognized as an executive chef.
To become the head chef of a Michelin-starred restaurant, Alan Taudon had to train his creativity, culinary talent and the mind of a manager with at least 10 years of learning.
Love comes from family meals
With his experience and unique perspective, Alan Taudon has created a healthy cooking method. He selects dishes with bold flavors and distinctive aromas to bring diners a balanced and unique flavor journey. With a distinct culinary vision, just one year later, Alan Taudon was nominated for the Gault&Millau 2019 in the “Great of Tomorrow” category for chefs leading the trends of the future.
Alan Taudon has been nominated for a 2019 Gault&Millau Award in the category “Great of Tomorrow”
When talking about the starting point of his journey, Alan Taudon said that his love for food came very naturally. Alan was not a child of a culinary background, his first memories of taste came from his mother and grandmother's dishes with ingredients right on the farm in Limoges, France where Alan Taudon grew up.
"I was born into a family that loves good food. When I was young, we often hosted family meals at my grandmother's house in the town of Chaptelat, France. I was happy to enjoy the food my mother cooked, when my mother and grandmother cooked so well, I almost didn't want to touch it. But when I felt the joy of cooking and sharing, I also wanted the person who ate the food I cooked to be happy," Alan happily recalled.
Alan Taudon hopes that diners will feel happy when enjoying his dishes.
Dreaming of a traveling kitchen
Alan's endless inspiration always comes from his travels, he said: "I am quite an open person and am inspired by all the cuisines in the world. On every trip, I take time to explore new flavors in street food and try to create an interesting combination with my French culinary culture"
Going beyond the framework of classical cooking methods, Alan Taudon dreams of a "traveling" kitchen. With the concept of not restricting his own cuisine to any country or region, he always tries to combine the typical flavors of each land he has been to. In his kitchen, all flavors from Asia, Central America, Latin America to the Scandinavian peninsula in Northern Europe are researched by Alan and his team to create unique taste experiences.
On the deep plates, there might be Norwegian red prawns with rice water and the sourness of Japanese mandarin oranges, or the famous German gnocchi pasta served with red mullet and tomato, while wagyu beef prepared with red apples and seaweed is a wonderful discovery of both cooking method and flavor.
Going beyond the confines of classic cooking methods, Alan Taudon dreams of a "traveling" kitchen.
And when he arrived in Vietnam, Alan immediately fell in love with the taste of Bun Bo and Bun Thit Nuong because of the similarities in Vietnamese dishes with his culinary perspective. Alan found a light, low-fat experience and vegetables became the soul of the broth. But for a tropical country, to be able to maintain the quality of fresh ingredients and the full flavor of each dish was the challenge for him.
But challenges also bring opportunities. With many years of experience as head of R&D at the three-star restaurant Le Cinq, Alan Taudon has constantly challenged himself to move from traditional cuisine with butter and meat to a new, lighter and more elegant style of cuisine with main ingredients from seafood and vegetables. He focuses on the sauces that are often forgotten on the table. The skillful blend of flavors and textures, turning ingredients that were once supplementary or simply decorative in the dish into the main characters.
The masterful blend of flavors and textures transforms ingredients that were once mere side dishes or decorative elements into the main characters.
From decorative ingredients to the main character of haute cuisine
With the meticulousness and passion that Alan Taudon has for food, he has discovered bold ways of processing that create sharp and lively collisions that contradict the nature of vegetables in each dish. But when going to the end of the journey, diners will realize the feminine gentleness hidden in the extremely modern, flirtatious and equally crazy flavors that anyone who enjoys it once will find it hard to resist enjoying it again.
With Alan's meticulousness and passion for food, he has discovered daring ways of preparing it.
When talking about vegetables, tubers or fruits, Alan Taudon has opened a new perspective on the journey of "green cuisine". He does not stop at seeing plants as just a side ingredient of the dish, the way Alan treats their life cycle is also the way he shows respect for nature.
"We can use everything from plants. The skins of beans or fruits will be used to make juice, soups, stews or braised dishes. As for the coffee grounds, they are recovered by an organic farming company to grow oyster mushrooms, and then we will buy these mushrooms back from them."
Alan saw within their closed life cycle of nurturing and sharing.
Alan saw within their closed life cycle of nurturing and sharing, just like the early culinary concepts that his family taught him. Not only preserving the artistic features of French fine dining culture, Alan Taudon aimed for the complete harmony of matter and spirit. With such a simple idea, he breathed new life into the trend of sustainable culinary experiences.
*We would like to thank Park Hyatt Saigon Hotel for their support.
L'Orangerie Restaurant at the Four Seasons George V Hotel
Address: 31 Avenue George V, Paris, France
