Wolfgang’s Steakhouse: Bourassin (second right) and Turcas (far left) preparing their specially curated Michelin Star Chef Series menu.
Cédric Bourassin and Marc Turcas are French Michelin Star maestros but ask them about their favourite dessert and they will tell you its about the simple pleasures.
Turcas, a pastry chef, loves tucking into a well-made dark chocolate lava cake with a warm liquid centre, describing it as “perfection”, when served with a good custard cream or ice cream, while Bourassin enjoys baking apple pies.
“It’s the simple things that remind us of when we were children. I like to make apple pies for my son because it makes him happy. It reminds me of my grandmother’s apple pie and I am happy too,” Bourassin quipped.
Culinary educators at the prestigious École Hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) in Switzerland, Bourassin and Turcas were instrumental in the institution’s Michelin-starred teaching restaurant, Le Berceau des Sens.
One of the rare educational establishments to have earned a Michelin star (2019, 2020 and 2021), hold a 16/20 rating in Gault et Millau, and be a member of the Grandes Tables de Suisse association, Le Berceau des Sens provides students a venue to navigate autonomously, learning essential skills to excel in the art of hospitality under the guidance of experts like Bourassin and Turcas.
The duo, who were at Resorts World Genting from July 25 to 29 to present a specially curated five-course menu as part of the Wolfgang’s Steakhouse Michelin Star Chef Series, took time out to share their recipe for success with StarEdu’s young aspiring chefs.
A fine dining chef must be able to think on the spot, they believe. It is a crucial skill because chefs must be able to accommodate last-minute requests.
While grounded in the art of French cuisine, both have worked in kitchens around the world, sharing how their cooking techniques have equipped them with the skills to blend different food cultures and ingredients to create a new gastronomical adventure for diners.
“Cooking is a skill but when a chef puts his heart into the food, you’ll feel it,” said Bourassin.
Sweet escape: Exotic vacherin with valrhona chocolate mousse.
> What inspired you to become a chef?
B: To be honest, my mother was not a good cook so I was not inspired by her! But one day I visited a culinary school, loved it so much and decided on a culinary arts career.
T: It was the opposite for me. My mother was a great cook. Baking with my mum made me want to be a pastry chef.
> You both specialise in French cuisine. Has travelling influenced your cooking?
B: When you stop travelling, you stop being creative.
With French cooking techniques, you can do anything. There are specific ideas and ingredients everywhere in the world. The more you travel and meet people from all over the world, the more you will be inspired. I was 21 years old when I first came to Malaysia. It was only the second time I had taken a flight.
Here I was, this small French guy who didn’t know anything about all the different cultures. The food here is so amazing. I was like a sponge, swallowing everything. I used to live in Asia so I know a little more about spices and the specific ingredients of each country. When you combine them, it’s interesting.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes you spend more than six months to create a dish and sometimes it’s done in 48 hours – like magic.
T: French cuisine is the base but you can mix ingredients from different countries. You have to master the technique first only then you learn how to mix different products from around the world to create dishes with a good balance of flavours.
Ocean deep: Sea bream ceviche and candied kumquats.
> What’s your ingredient of choice?
B: I love potatoes. It’s very interesting. You can do plenty of things with it – for example, you can use the starch to thicken or to bind something. Potatoes really help me to develop my creativity – from coming up with fine dining cuisine to some very crazy things.
T: Exotic fruits! I like mango and passion fruit, which we don’t often get back home.
> And your favourite Malaysian dish?
B: Nasi lemak, roti canai, nasi goreng, and spice-rich curries. In Switzerland, we cook our meals every day but here, I eat out. The Malaysian breakfast is so good – French people mostly have something sweet in the morning but here it’s savoury.
T: The rice here is so tasty. I don’t know how you cook it!
> As Michelin Star chefs, how do you stay hungry?
B: By being curious, travelling and always pushing beyond expectations. My customers drive me to innovate. Sometimes, they come twice a week and want to eat something different so I always need to brainstorm and push my creativity. I like my customers to discover something new. They must be open-minded but I will try my best to deliver what they want.
You must listen to the customers to make sure you are on the right track.
T: I want to surprise my customers so I try to do something new every day. When you travel around the world, you see different food cultures and different ways of being creative.
> What’s the most important lesson you’ve learnt in your career?
B: Humility. When you become a chef, you will have many journalists wanting to speak to you. But we are not saving lives – I’m just a cook. I’m happy when you eat well but the most important thing to me is my family.
T: Be focused. Be passionate. Always strive for excellence.
Tantalising treat: Kimchi-style angus sirloin, enoki mushrooms, and almond potatoes.
> Sustainability is a buzzword in kitchens around the world. What’s that about?
B: Farm to plate is an important concept. Our kitchen supplies are sourced from within a 100km radius. We also remind our students, “Don’t hold too much food, pay attention to your peelings, don’t order too much... be sensitive about waste...” We try to teach our students by example but it’s almost impossible to be fully sustainable so we must inform our customers about where our ingredients come from. Even when I travel – for example to Malaysia – I think about the ingredients. It doesn’t make sense to buy things from Europe if I can find an equivalent here.
T: If we come up with a recipe, and there is too much waste, that is not good. If you have something left over, think about how you can use it on the plate as a side dish.
> What does it take to succeed?
B: Never give up. Be passionate. Trust yourself. You will fail but you will also improve. People are travelling much more now than before so you have to push yourself to be better because they know what’s a good restaurant and what’s not. Chefs can no longer have the “I cook, you eat” mindset.
T: The best way to learn is to work in restaurants all over the world. Get as much knowledge and experience as you can. Pick up the good stuff and ignore the bad.
> What’s the most challenging issue chefs today face?
B: Food intolerance. This is happening everywhere in the world, especially in Europe among the younger generation. It’s very difficult to manage because you may have customers who are on a gluten-free, lactose-free, vegan, vegetarian, or pescetarianism diets, telling you at the last minute. It puts a lot of stress on the kitchen.
T: But we try our best to accommodate by asking our customers every time they make a reservation whether they have any specific dietary requirements.
Note: Co-executive chefs Max Boonthanakit and Lijo George of Los Angeles Michelin-starred modern French bistro, Camphor, will be presenting a five-course exclusive menu at Wolfgang’s Steakhouse on Sept 13 and 14. For details on next month’s Michelin Star Chef Series, log on to rwgenting.com
