Alain Passard, the Maestro of Vegetable Cuisine

When three-starred famous chef Alain Passard took over L’Archestrate Restaurant in Paris from his mentor Alain Senderens 30 years ago, he renamed it L’Arpège, and turned it into a sanctuary where “cooking is more than just a job; it’s a life partner.”

Fast forward to 2016 and Passard's work is so widely acclaimed that he has been elected to win the Lifetime Achievement Award at The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2016 ceremony (that will be live streamed today by FineDiningLovers at 8pm on this page) infront of his acclaimed peers. We take the opportunity to remind us of his culinary philosophy in a re-visit of video footage shared a year ago, where his enthusiasm for vegetables and his "love that is cooking"are an inspiration.

Just like a musical arpeggio creating a perfect harmony, Alain Passard had envisioned a culinary experience that “chiseled the senses”: sight, taste, smell, touch, and sound. Not surprisingly, Passard is also a musician and his view of cooking is similar to that of a musical composition where hand dexterity and gestures are crucial.

For close to 15 years, Alain Passard has been reducing meat in his cooking to concentrate on vegetable cuisine, which he considers is “almost a different trade” because of seasonality that compels chefs to follow a certain dynamic linked to nature. Back then, he admits he was ahead of his time but 15 year later he has become a key figure for the preparation, cooking and presentation of vegetables. A passion that remains at the core of his lifelong work, Passard says, “All has yet to be done with a leek!”

Click on the image above to view the video conducted by FineDiningLovers.