Few names hold reverence like Marco Pierre White. The legend who you might know from Hell’s Kitchen and guest appearances on MasterChef Australia was not only the youngest chef to be awarded three Michelin stars back when he was 33, but he was also audacious enough to later return them, claiming ‘he was being judged by people with less knowledge than him. So, what were they truly worth?’ In fact, as he tells us over the course of this interview, the best restaurant he has ever eaten at ‘has no stars’. There is no attempt to impress a guest, the focus is on feeding you instead. But more on that in a moment. Marco was in Bengaluru and Mumbai recently for a much-sought-after masterclass and dinner, organised by World on a Plate. And if you missed the dinner, don’t worry because this interview is overflowing with food for thought. The 61-year-old opens up, unfiltered, in this revealing conversation that gives us a glimpse into the inner workings of the man behind that enigmatic persona.
Excerpts:
What excited you most about your visit to India?
I can’t say this about any other country in the world. But I’ve never eaten badly in India. I’ve always eaten deliciously well, which tells you a lot about the food in India. And that’s why it is one of my favourite countries to visit in the world. Because when you go to a country and the food’s not great, you don’t want to go back there. Food is very important or should I say deliciously important. And that is what I am most excited about when I visit India.
And no one in my opinion uses spices or has an understanding of spice, like the Indian cooks.
Do you have a go-to lunch order while in India?
I do not have one particular meal, I have lots actually. I’d like Indian food. But in England, we have lots of Indian restaurants. We have very good consumers. And therefore, the biryani is very good. The way that the rice and the meat is cooked makes a difference. I had the most delicious meal downstairs at San:Qi (Four Seasons, Mumbai). Lamb biryani. It was sensational. It was lamb cooked on the bone, and the best part was digging the marrow out at the end.
Take us back in time for a moment. What is your earliest food memory?
Well, I was exposed to Italian food as a young boy because my mother is Italian. So, I was brought up with Italian food. One of my favourite Italian restaurants in the entire world is Riva in Barns in London. It’s very simple, very authentic. I go to have two courses, maybe a little bit of cheese. But what I don’t want is any more than two courses. Because, as I say, I am at an age in my life where I eat to live, not to grow.
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What inspires you right now?
When it comes to cooking, the story behind the dish is more important than the recipe. That’s what inspires me the most. In one of the greatest cooking shows I saw in Sri Lanka, I saw four members of one family cooking in the kitchen. The great grandmother, the grandmother, the mother and the daughter all cooking together, that was the greatest show on earth. The story behind the artist is what truly inspires others.
How do you like to unwind?
I may treat myself to a documentary. Because I look at documentaries the way people read books. I can read but I won’t be able to absorb information when I read. If you read to me, I remember everything that you told me about what you are reading. If I read it, I can’t absorb it. Visuals are very important to me. I may stay home and watch a documentary for two hours, three hours, sometimes on a weekend. And I watch all sorts of documentaries like travel, food, or anything that catches my imagination.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
When I was 13 years old, I went to my friend’s house to see whether he wanted to go to the woods and play. He wasn’t in but his grandfather, Mr Douglas, a very nice man, was there. He said, ‘Marco, look at my hand. What do you see?’ I said I see a palm Mr Douglas and he said ‘that’s right’. However, I see four knuckles. Looking at the same thing, we saw something very different. I never forgot what he taught. What was he really saying?
You see something which I don’t see. He was saying Marco never allow the obvious to blind you. Look at something for what it is not for what you want it to be. It is the same with gastronomy. Unravel the emotions of gastronomy and look at food for it is not what you want it to be. And allow her to be herself. And the more you do to her, the more you take away from her. Nature is the artist. We’re just the cooks.
What makes a good meal?
Something that’s real. It should be food I want to eat. When I go to these restaurants, they give me 15 courses and that is something I’m not interested in. I get bored of it. My favourite restaurant in the world has no stars. It just has deliciously good food. It doesn’t try to impress you; it tries to feed you. That’s what I call eating, not those small portions on a plate. And the waiter puts down my food and tells me what it is, he tells me how to eat it. I have one mouthful, and he asks me if I enjoyed it? That’s not eating. Gastronomy is about indulging. It’s about getting lost in the flavours. It’s about the emotional impact food has on you.
What makes a great chef?
Great chefs have three things in common. Firstly, they accept and they respect that mother nature is the true artist, and they are the cook. Secondly, everything they do becomes an extension of themselves and comes from within them. It is the way they work, the way they dress, it is like watching a pianist play a piano. The way they move around the kitchen is like watching a ballerina. And thirdly, and most importantly, they give you great insights into the world that they were born into, the world which inspired them. Because remember, you don’t have to have Michelin stars to be a great cook, what you need is emotion.