Chef Yannick Alleno – Surprising the World With His Audacious Cooking

Some people favor eating breakfast at a particular restaurant, lunch at another and dinner at another restaurant. There are restaurants, however, that can offer a really great dining experience 24/7. One of these restaurants is Le Meurice, the 64th best restaurant in the world according to the recently concluded El Pellegrino World’s 100 Best Restaurants 2009. The credit, of course, should be given to the restaurant’s incredibly talented chef Yannick Alleno.

Indeed, the restaurant offers great food anytime of the day. You can expect rich, thick and savory dishes from Le Meurice’s exciting menu. Chef Alleno makes sure that every dish is carefully prepared and beautifully presented. Every bite is heavenly. The curious thing about this chef’s cooking is that his dishes can be audacious to some. They are fairly contemporary even. So, it is surprising that he can capture the delicateness of traditional cooking. But what can you expect from one of the world’s best chefs? He is driven by his insatiable desire to please his guests. It is a law he live by, and it is the same law that has won him countless accolades, the respect of his colleagues and the loyalty of his customers.

Chef Yannick Alleno does not just regard himself as a cook, but a culinary director as well. He thinks of himself as a conductor of a culinary symphony that only he can hear. Guided by his innate creativity and inventiveness, he continues to amaze people with his innovative creations. He often presents subtly eccentric dishes. He exerts tremendous control over his techniques and his cooking. You can say that he practices controlled audacity in his cooking. His creations, however, exhibits the flair of traditional Parisian dishes.

In truth, his choice of ingredients must have something to do with his cooking. After all, he favors using items that are usually found in French dishes. He occasionally transports seasonal products for his menu. This is also why, Le Meurice’s menu changes according to the availability of seasonal ingredients.

Like other chefs, however, his cooking is not wholly influenced by French cooking techniques or concepts. Being a well-traveled chef, he also draws inspiration from other European and Asian cooking methods. He infuses a bit of this and that to his cooking, and he creates a style that is his own. An example of this is the delicate jelly of whelk to the sea urchin tongues, rice cream and seaweed crust. Obviously, this is influenced by Japanese cuisine. There is no doubt about it; Chef Yannick Alleno’s cooking is certainly audacious, brave and creative.