Hot seat: Marco Pierre White
Having bagged three Michelin stars at just 33 years old, Marco Pierre White is widely regarded as one of the most talented chefs of this generation. He also became one of the most controversial when he gave up his accolades and retired at the age of 38. He talks to Time Out about the controversial star rating system and what he truly thinks of Chinese cuisine...
Michelin stars mean very little because you’re being given stars by people who have less knowledge than yourself. So you can’t take them too seriously.
In the old days you had to earn your stars. Today, they’re happy giving three stars straight away.
I didn’t want to be a chef who pretends to be in the kitchen when he’s not in the kitchen. I came from the old world of gastronomy and I was always behind my stove.
But winning three stars is very exciting. Retaining them is the most boring job in the world.
Once you’ve realised your dreams then you have to move on and redevelop yourself.
What the kitchen did for me was suppress my insecurities. It allowed me to discover myself as a person.
All great chefs respect the classics. And then they put their personality into the food, which gives you great insight to them as a person.
Chinese cuisine is one of the finest cuisines in the world. It doesn’t need to evolve. It’s perfect as it is.
What the consumers want today is very different from what they wanted 30 years ago. Every sector of society wants to dine out now. Even the working man is aspirational.
For many years I didn’t see my children because I was at work six or seven days a week.
I accept that I will never achieve as much as I achieved as a young man because I’m not prepared to invest the time or the emotions anymore. I must invest my time and my emotions in my children. That is my full time job now.
Marco Pierre White’s Marco’s Great British Feasts airs on TLC Nov 25 and Dec 2 at 7pm.
Interview: Dorothy So
Add your comment