Grand Chef Relais & Châteaux, Pierre Orsi is at the helm of his Lyon-based produce-lead restaurant named after him. His cuisine would delight every epicurean, with the use of seasonal, high quality produce to create master-pieces, leading him to be one of France’s most notable and acclaimed chefs.
As the son of a hotelier and restaurateur, Chef Orsiwas senton an apprenticeship with Chef Paul Bocuse.The demands, the perfection, the sureness of touch, the rigour of Monsieur Bocus acted as inspiration for Pierre to want to follow in his culinary footsteps.
What was your most moving culinary experience?
A lunch at the Pot au Feu in Asnières, with Michel Guérard who was waiting out in the street for Jean Banchet, Jacky Marguin and me. His sea bass and scallops, cooked in an oval oven dish, and his feuillantine with caramelised pears blew us away. As did Michel Guérard himself, who is an indefatigable storyteller and kept us company for a good part of the afternoon.
The most amusing kitchen incident you ever witnessed?
In the 80s, a customer called for me to come to the dining room to tell me that he found his dessert bizarre: he had been served caramelised floating island in crème anglaise. When I got back to the kitchen I tasted it and discovered to my horror that the crème anglaise was really a beurre blanc and the caramel was salty as salt had been put in instead of sugar by mistake and the crème anglaise had swapped places with the beurre blanc. It really wasn’t very good at all. You can laugh about it now, but at the time…
Your best piece of advice for amateur chefs?
Enjoy time with your family, and just have a single dish …
- Michelin star
3 Place Kléber, 69006 Lyon, France
+33 4 78 89 57 68