BENGALURU: Bengalureans got a taste of bisque de homard, croque monsieur, and tartare de saumon oeuf parfait when French chef Alexandre Kerbouz recently held a pop-up at Grand Mercure Bengaluru at Gopalan Mall. “Bengalureans were curious about French cuisine which is about sauce and fresh cream. In fact, it has also been influenced by Japanese cuisine,” shares Kerbouz, adding,
“French cuisine needs more exposure in India. I chose these dishes for the pop-up because I had to use multiple items like fish, chicken, and beef. For example, for the croque monsieur, we usually use ham and white bread. I used chicken in place of ham.” Also on the table was canard a l’orange, a 300-year-old recipe prepared using duck, alcohol, and orange juice.
It was by pure chance that Kerbouz stumbled into the world of cooking. But over 20 years and more, he has worked hard on creating his own niche in the culinary world. “At the age of 14, I stumbled upon cooking when one of my friends asked me and my other friends if any of us was interested in doing the dishes at a restaurant for one day. As I needed money, I took up the job. Witnessing the fiery passion and unwavering discipline of the chefs, ignited in me a passion for the craft,” shares Kerbouz.
To follow his passion, he dropped out of school at 15 and obtained professional certification in cooking. He says, “For two years, I worked in a traditional and high-scale French brasserie where I met a Michelin Star pastry chef, Loïc Pivot. I learnt a lot from him. In the hotel, we would prepare salads and even cook fish in front of the customers like in the old days.
I worked in a couple of other places to gain the skills and then pursued a professional certificate in confectionery and went on working at a four-star Hotel Ambassadeur in the early 2000s,” says Kerbouz, who, along with his mentor chef Loic Pivot, got the opportunity to work at a French restaurant L’Atelier B in Japan for a year. After that, he decided to launch a catering business in Japan. In fact, he is now headed to Puducherry to get his restaurant up and running.