Alleno is the head chef at the three Michelin-starred restaurant Le Meurice in Paris. He also looks after a number of other restaurants, notably STAY by Yannick Alleno at the One&Only The Palm in Dubai. Here he offers a few culinary insights...
I first knew that I wanted to be a chef....
at just eight years old. I went to work in my cousin's restaurant and I felt good in that environment. When I was 15, my father arranged for me to work at Manuel Martinez's two Michelin-starred restaurant for two months. It was a great experience, but really, really hard.
The dish that I am most proud of is...
the next one that I invent. Cooking is all about evolution and new dishes take you in a different direction, they create a new basis to work from. Creativity is important.
When I'm at home, I like to cook...
really quite simply. On a Sunday evening, I can't think of anything better than a perfectly roasted chicken with a green salad. I also always make sure I have eggs in the fridge; you can do so much with them.
The advice that I would give to a home cook is...
when you're cooking for other people, don't try to do too much. If you get stressed out, you'll make mistakes. Keep it simple.
My favourite restaurant is...
Pierre Gagnaire's in Paris and a Japanese place called Zen.
One of my proudest achievements was...
the publication of
Le Terroir Parisien
; it took a lot of work and I think that it represents a real concentration of what I am.
For my last meal, I would eat...
a selection of seafood to start, followed by eggs en cocotte with truffles and then a thin, crunchy lemon and praline roll, filled with mousse and served with ice cream, a few slices of truffle and a tiny dusting of salt.
