Nobody does haute cuisine quite like the French. And of the vanguards of the French cuisine, perhaps no one, too, comes quite close to Chef Christian Têtedoie.
“You may be born a rooster, but you can become a chef,” said Têtedoie, a native of Lyon, France where he has seven restaurants, including an eponymous flagship. “Even if you have an innate sense of cooking, you still need dedication and training. There are no shortcuts to this – you do not become a chef overnight.”
Têtedoie visited Manila recently to give an introductory class to the first batch of students under the French culinary program of the Center for Culinary Arts-Manila (CCA) and the Hong Kong-based Institut Culinaire Disciples Escoffier (ICDE), which has 25,000 members in 26 countries. Graduates of the six-month program are expected to learn 250 cooking techniques and will receive two diplomas – one from CCA-ICDE and a National Diploma in French Cuisine from the French Ministry of Education.
Each class will be composed of 10 students only to ensure that instructors have plenty of time to connect with students for personal mentoring. Applicants are not required to have basic culinary skills, but passion for cooking and willingness to learn are demanded from them at all times.
“French cuisine is all about patience. It is very labor intensive. Some chefs nowadays are becoming lazy – they want everything instant. But you can’t cut corners when it comes to French cuisine,” said Têtedoie, a highly acclaimed Michelin-starred chef who started cooking at the age of seven.
He was named Best Apprentice of France at age 17, having trained under legendary chefs Paul Bocuse and Georges Blanc, and was once in charge of the presidential kitchen at the Élysées Palace for former President François Mitterrand.
with raspberry sauce
Food, indeed, runs in Têtedoie’s blood.
Coming from a large family of agricultural workers, this influenced him to patronize local produce.
“My childhood has been blessed with being able to eat products sourced from our farm. Aside from getting fresh produce, I realized that we have a social responsibility to support our local farmers. This must be taught early on, as our students today are the purchasers of tomorrow,” he said.
Despite being very traditional as the current president of the Maîtres Cuisiners de France – an invitation-only association of French master chefs worldwide whose motto is to preserve and spread the French culinary arts – Têtedoie is not one to shirk from innovation.
“You have to keep your eyes and ears open – there are a lot of things going on and you must keep your dishes fresh. You have to keep on innovating. Food is defined by constant progress and evolution,” he said.
This was made evident when Têtedoie performed a cooking demonstration at the CCA kitchen theater where he prepared sea scallops with Porcini mushrooms and spices. The sauce that he used showcased Asian flavors – soy sauce, curry powder and saffron.
“Being a master chef is not only about promoting French cuisine but also being able to take the best of foreign elements and integrating them in my style of cooking. Seasoning is crucial,” he said.
Têtedoie, while playfully licking sauce off his finger during the demonstration, recalled a question that one of his former mentors asked him before: Do you hear the butter sing?
“It is slow music, not quite rock,” he said in jest. “I cannot remember a time when I wanted to be something else. I live and breathe my cuisine.”
“Cooking is about generosity. It is more than a job. It is almost an art of living,” he added.
For Têtedoie, the butter is still singing.
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Photos by Sonny Espiritu