sfreelife

Antoine Westermann , ex-3 star michelin chef from France

Le Buerehiesel ***

Guest Chef @ Epicurean Masters @ Sirocco,  Le Bua ( 2007)

This was one of the most expensive meals we’ve ever had – a ripoff by any standards. Le Bua’s overtly-ambitious event of having 6 3-stars chef at one event and charging almost $1,000 (30,000 baht) for a meal, not surprisingly, failed. The $1 million Gala Dinner was seen as a publicity stunt more than any worthwhile culinary event. The event was held for 2 years and has stopped ever since.

The only memorable dish we had was one of the best terrine we’ve ever had :

Chicken , Foie Gras Terrine

Chef’s profile :” Antoine Westermann is one of the world’s most admired and celebrated chefs, having earned three Michelin stars at his Strasbourg’s restaurant, Le Buerehiesel. Westermann went on to expand his restaurant offerings, adding two sandwich bars in Strasbourg, and opening Mon Vieil Ami, his famed Paris restaurant on the Ile Saint Louis, in 2003. Westermann also tackled Franco-Portuguese cooking at his restaurant in the Relais & Chateaux Fortaleza C Guincho in Cascais, Portugal, and, in 2006, revisited appetizers “à la française” at his modern Parisian Brasserie, Drouant, in Paris.

Currently in a new phase of his career, Westermann has chosen to devote his expertise and creativity to the search and the development of new culinary tendencies. Having relinquished his three Michelin stars, and turned over Le Buerehiesel to the capable hands of his son, Eric, Westermann oversees the kitchens at Dourant, Fortaleza C Guincho and Mon Vieil Ami, and invests his time in the young chefs with whom he works on all of his projects.

Most recently, Westermann has been serving as the culinary consultant to Café du Parc, imparting his vision of a contemporary French bistro to the Washington, D.C. restaurant. “

The decision to give back the 3 stars was highly publicized. This is what he had to say about the move :

“My son and I worked in the kitchen together for seven years. He’s 34 years old. Every day he said, ’Yes, Papa.’ Ten times. Fifteen times. It’s not possible for a father to have a son say yes all the time. So two years ago, I put my stars in his pocket, and I stopped cooking there. I trust my son, so it was easier for me to say ‘Ciao.’

Today, I smile. But it took two and a half years to make this decision. It’s difficult to give up what you fight for. Now I am free like a bird and happy that my son has earned one star on his own.”