There are five Michelin 3-Star restaurants in America. Joel Robuchon in the MGM Grand Hotel is one of them. Unlike many of his colleagues, JR is in his restaurant and at the stoves just about every third month in Las Vegas. We sat down (after begging off 16 courses and settling for a 12 course meal there recently) to ask The Chef of the 20th Century (as proclaimed by Gault-Millau in 1996), about his cuisine and restaurants in the era of the restaurant/food blogger.
Click here to hear my review of Joel Robuchon on KNPR.
Click here to read my review of Joel Robuchon for John Mariani.
JC: What is your opinion of food/restaurant bloggers and the impact they have on the dining-out public?
JR: They can be helpful and they can be dangerous. Dangerous because anyone can write anything, even if they have no training or experience and don’t make any sense. Genuine gastronomic critics bring a lot of experience to the table and you must respect that, but too often the internet can be used as a revenge tool by people who have something against the chef or the restaurant. But the public doesn’t know when a “review” is being used as a way to ambush a restaurant. Too many restaurant “critics” these days are like me when I’m criticizing a soccer coach; I might have my opinion, but I don’t know that much.
JC: How would you advise someone to get a proper gourmet education in this era of very expensive restaurants (like his) and various cooking/restaurant styles?
JR: You must go out a lot. Try different concepts. Form a fine dining club. Try get a true understanding of what is good and bad cooking. Follow a gastronomic critic whose tastes you understand and learn from them. Unfortunately, people don’t take the time these days to become a true gourmand.
JC: What advice would you give a young chef (or a young restaurant customer) about what to strive for in good cooking and good eating?
JR: Young people/children have an inherent honesty and respect for what is good in food. But as they get older, from 18-35 yrs. old, they tend to over think things…which is the most dangerous thing you can do as a chef. Young chefs try too hard to impress and constantly want their food to be exciting, but that doesn’t mean it’s any good. Too often they get lost in the method and end up overcomplicating things. Doing a simple thing well and perfectly, is what great cooking is all about.
JC: Name me a restaurant that I’ve never heard of that I absolutely must go to?
JR: Restaurante Nou Manolin in Alicante, Spain, in Valencia. A tapas/small plates/seafood restaurant with amazing Mediterranean seafood and langoustines….