A Perfect Kiss or a Perfect Meal? A Conversation with Chef Joel Robuchon

By Zeke Quezada

 

As we pay our respects to a great chef, I have reposted this piece from one of my conversations with Chef Joel Robuchon. If there ever was a person that I could be starstruck by, Chef Joel Robuchon was that person. The culinary world lost a great one. 

 

Recently Buywine.com had the opportunity to sit down with Star chef Joel Robuchon. The chef with more Michelin stars than some galaxies talked about his love of food, experimenting, California tomatoes and his grandchildren and their eating habits. Of course, we also ate. We ate a lot. His two restaurants at MGM Grand Las Vegas are exquisite and among the very best in the city.

“A perfect kiss or a perfect meal?” I ask Joel Robuchon, the chef that has been referred to as the “Chef of the Century” in his native France.

“They are two delicacies that both go to the same place,” chef Joel Robuchon responds in French, which his translator relays to me in English. Though my French is elementary, I sense the spirit of his words from his soft laugh. If you ever believed that French food was pretentious and the exclusive purview of fine dining, Robuchon, who some critics have called the best chef in the world, is out to dispel that notion.

Robuchon is the Michelin-stared chef and owner of two world-class Las Vegas restaurants, his eponymous Joel Robuchon, an exquisite and formal dining gem tucked in a secluded corner of the MGM Grand Las Vegas, and L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, a more casual and free-spirited venue next door. Rubochon’s empire extends around the world, from 25 Michelin stars in restaurants that all reflect his passionate French cuisine, a style predicated on a simple elegance — and a dab of exclusivity.

Robuchon is not so much slowing down as he is turning his attention to restaurants like L’Atelier, a French term for workshop, where he emphasizes a simpler more casual version of what he does. At L’Atelier, Robuchon pulls back the curtain to reveal the secrets of his brand of French magic. The open kitchen allows chefs and diners to interact. Want to know what that ingredient or this sauce is? Just ask. The chef is right in front of you.

Both of Robuchon’s Vegas restaurants combine elegance and style, precision and charm, yet each takes a different approach. At L’Atelier, casual elegance with an energetic atmosphere. At Joel Robuchon, the classic fine dining experience. Both share a common denominator, though: an easy manner that is both welcoming and attentive and a staff that is at the top of their game.

Robuchon’s explanation for the quality of people he employs, “Most of the management team has worked for me for a long time. They know my expectations. It’s about motivation, and people are motivated to work in this environment. It’s all about excellence and quality. I don’t know if you noticed, but the employees are all very happy.”

It’s true. A few of his staff, overhearing our conversation, subtly nod in agreement, unaware that anyone is watching. But Robuchon is. He watches everything, as you’d expect of someone who operates two of the best restaurants in Las Vegas–and many of the best in the world. That’s not to say his staff are robotic or automatons. Over the course of several meals at both Joel Robuchon and L’Atelier, I have found the service warm and inviting. At L’Atelier, for example, one waiter has shared stories of growing up in Hawaii and his affinity for ingredients shaped his understanding of global cuisine. At the more formal Joel Robuchon, a waiter from Morocco describes each of the dishes with a passion that seems to come from his soul.

There is a common thread among those who create great food, I have noticed, a joie de vivre that perfumes your food. Robuchon’s cooking bubbles over with that passion, which he expresses in the pristine quality and seasonality of his ingredients, which he can’t always anticipate from his test kitchen in Paris. He may fly into town prepared to serve one dish, when he suddenly abandons that notion for something else that a farmer just picked or that just arrived from a favorite fishmonger.

Robuchon admits that not everything he dreams up translates to a winning dish. The chef jokes as we discuss some failed experiments, but he retorts that cooking is “…the only thing I know how to do, so what else am I going to do?”

I laugh, he chuckles. I start to ask another question when Robuchon begins to rummage through his pockets. Obviously distracted, he pulls out his phone. Is he going to make a call in the middle of our conversation, I wonder? I pause, but he wants me to continue talking. As I finish my question, he lifts the phone to my face to show me something.

A stream of French bobbing surpasses my ability to understand, Robuchon is describing a photo on his phone. “I have the idea…it’s not quite done…it’s not the masterpiece…it’s a complicated dish,” he rattles. It’s a recipe he’s been working on in his Paris laboratory that highlights California tomatoes. The dish looks complicated, like a science project gone awry. But, even through a photo on his phone, you can still see his passion, his artistry, his devotion to creating the wonderful food he has chosen to be his life’s work.

“It’s not about having the fork, here or there, it’s about hospitality, bringing people together. When people are coming to these restaurants, I want them to feel my DNA. That is the important part.”

Joel Robuchon’s Restaurants are located at the MGM Grand Las Vegas
Joel Robuchon and L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon