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Meet Pierre Gagnaire :
When you open a restaurant in a foreign country, do you bring a French touch to the establishment? What are the codes that you rework?
I try as much as possible to deliver my point of view when I’m developing the concepts for my restaurants. For instance, in Seoul, we designed a restaurant where I exercised complete control over the project along with Olivier Gagnaire, who was in charge of the décor. And this establishment is truly a very, very French site that nonetheless responds very well to certain Asian codes.
Olivier Gagnaire adds some true markers of French culture, thanks to his knowledge of the history of the materials that he’s relied on to bring a sense of authenticity to the establishment. We try to create spaces that are comfortable, elegant, a bit whimsical, a bit irascible, and with a touch of irreverence—in short, a touch of the French as they really are.
Private salon in a restaurant in Seoul
What is your vision of the brasserie that you are planning to offer for the restaurants under the Barrière Group?
Every client makes the effort to choose us and spend three hours in our establishment. This is an important time. So many things can happen during a lunch. The meal allows him to have a good time and share an exchange with his guests. This is what we are aiming for in our restaurants by offering a cuisine that comports the fundamentals of a brasserie: veal stew (blanquette de veau), excellent slices of smoked salmon, a fine cut of beef, pan-fried sole (sole meunière), roasted potatoes, just to name a few examples.
Pierre Gagnaire
Pierre Gagnaire’s Bio:
Pierre Gagnaire was born on April 9, 1950 in Apinac in the Loire region of France. It was from his father, the head chef and owner of the restaurant Le Clos Fleuri in Saint-Priest-en-Jarez, that he inherited his passion for this line of work. After training as a pastry chef, Pierre Gagnaire spent his time working for one of the Paul Bocuse restaurants before deciding to become a head chef. Later, he would take over his father’s restaurant. After six years behind the ovens of Le Clos Fleuri, Pierre Gagnaire opened his first restaurant in Saint Etienne at the age of 31. Amid the avant-garde décor, he would offer the Stéphanois locals a cuisine that matched the creative, aesthetic, and expert décor of the establishment. The Michelin Guide would go on to award him with the industry’s highly coveted three-star distinction.
In 1995, after a series of financial difficulties, Pierre Gagnaire left the Stéphanois region to open a restaurant in Paris, where he would oversee the restaurant in the Hotel Balzac. He very swiftly recuperated his three Michelin stars.
Since the 2000s, he has launched a variety of restaurants under his name: Tokyo, Dubai, Seoul, Las Vegas, Moscow, Berlin, and even London.
Laurent Delporte, an editor and conference speaker, is a strategic expert in the sector of hotels. A visionary, he brings his unique look on hotels in service to the decision-makers in the industry, whether to enhance the development of new projects or strategic visions.
Laurent has visited and audited over 350 hotels across the world and also participates in mystery visits to provide quality control for the world’s finest hotels.
