Alain Ducasse is of course best known as a chef, but he’s certainly no stranger to the world of hospitality. A number of his most famous restaurants are operated in partnership with hotels, and he’s an accomplished hotelier in his own right.
We spoke with Mr. Ducasse about his life and his work, and naturally the conversation came around to his favorite hotels. Here are his recommendations:
Grand Hyatt Tokyo
“Right in the thick of things in the Roppongi Hills, an urban development with shops, restaurants and the contemporary art museum, but the rooms, the rooms are quiet oases carrying a nature-in-architecture motif.”
Blackberry Farm
“Deep in Tennessee, this traditional farm is a chance to return to nature and rediscover life’s simple pleasures: ribbons of white fences, a pond stocked with catfish, and houses constructed from Tennessee fieldstone. Part of the land is set aside for farming, ensuring a steady flow of deliciously fresh produce all year round: cheese, vegetables, herbs, honey, cider and much more. I live for sitting on the front lawn waiting on the days’ big moment: sundown with an apéritif.”
L’Andana
“My Tuscan retreat on the same vineyard-lined Maremma estate where Leopold II hunted game almost two centuries ago. My Chef Christophe Martin’s local dishes at the Trattoria Toscana are of course for me the highlight.”
As a chef you have long worked in connection with hotels. Had you always imagined you would become a hotelier, as well as a chef and restaurateur?
“ I have been a hotelier since 1995, when I opened La Bastide de Moustiers, a twelve-room country inn in Provence. Since then, I have added two other inns, l’Hostellerie de l’Abbaye de La Celle, again in Provence, and L’Andana, in Tuscany. Moreover, since 1999, I have been the chairman of Châteaux & Hôtels Collection, a collection of independent hotels sharing the same approach to hospitality. For me, being a hotelier is really another way of being a chef — both depend on consistency. It really is a different facet of the same passion. And now, when I work with a hotel, I have a better understanding of their constraints.”
Does a hotel restaurant, or a restaurant attached to a hotel, differ in any significant way from a stand-alone restaurant?
“
It varies, really. In some cases, the restaurant is very much in line with the hotel in terms of setting and style. In some other instances, the restaurant is designed as a stand-alone. However, in both cases, the restaurant has to offer a clear and strong proposal. The restaurant has to attract its customers by its own merit — exactly like an independent location. The main difference is ‘backstage,’ in the kitchens. In a hotel, besides the restaurant, you need a very good team to handle breakfast, banqueting and room service — something which obviously does not apply to stand-alones.”
As a guest, what is it, above all, that you look for in a hotel? Service? Location? Concept?
“
Consistency and honesty. I mean the hotel has to develop a straightforward proposal and deliver it. If it is a country inn, then I expect to find the best possible version of a country inn. If the hotel is urban, high-end, and classical, again, I hope it plays the part perfectly.”
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