KKS4 ep1 Mauro Colagreco "Mirazur" [Monaco] & Angela Hartnett "Murano" [London]

Do Mauro Colagreco "Mirazur" [Monaco]

Only after the tragic death of Bernard Loiseau in February 2003 did Mauro decide to move to Paris to work at Arpege, the legendary restaurant run by Alain Passard.  He would stay there a year and a half working with this true craftsman of the kitchen, which would allow him the chance to develop his own sense of creativity, his attention to detail and his imagination. In 2004 he carried on his journey, curious to learn about cooking in a luxury hotel, and had the opportunity to work in Alain Ducasse’s restaurant in the Plaza Athenée.  This experience taught him the idea of perfection, refinement and rigour. At the end of his stay in Paris he spent a year at the Grand Véfour. Working with Guy Martin allowed him to develop his own personal style as chef. Early 2009 The Mirazur is chosen as the 35th best restaurant in the world according to the San Pellegrino classification.

Angela Hartnett "Murano" [London]

In recent years, Angela Hartnett has emerged as one of Britain's most successful, best-loved and busiest chefs. In 2002 with Gordon Ramsay she opened Menu Restaurant at the Connaught hotel; the first woman ever to run the kitchen there. Her efforts were formally recognized in 2004 with the award of her first Michelin Star. In January 2007 Angela was awarded an MBE for her service to the hospitality industry. After 5 successful years at the Connaught and with the hotel undergoing a massive refurbishment, Angela and Gordon Ramsay opened Murano in Mayfair in August 2008. Murano serves modern cuisine with an Italian accent, reflecting Angela's family roots. Not long after opening, the sublime Murano was awarded its first Michelin star in Jan 2009

 

KKS4 ep2 Brett Graham "The Ledbury" [London] & Christophe Cussac "Joel Robuchon" [Monte Carlo]

Brett Graham The Ledbury** [London]

Chef "Rising Star" Brett Graham is one of the most respected chefs in London. The only Australian currently to hold three Michelin stars is No.14 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards list. Graham was brought up just outside Newcastle, NSW, and during his three-year stint at Banc in Sydney he won the Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year Award, which allowed him to travel to London, where he was taken on at The Square in Mayfair, a two-starred fine-diner. In 2002 Graham won his next Young Chef of the Year Award, while working at The Square. “In the 20-odd years of running The Square there are maybe half a dozen chefs who have really stood out,” says The Square’s chef and co-owner, Phil Howard. “Brett was the cream of this elite crop – hugely inquisitive, immensely energetic, extraordinarily gifted, but most importantly, just a great cook.”

Christophe Cussac "Joel Robuchon"*** [Monaco]

Joël Robuchon, offers a Mediterranean-accented, sophisticated and accessible cuisine, executed by Head Chef Christophe Cussac, in which the emphasis is on the produce. The open Teppanyaki-style kitchen creates a special relationship between the Chef and the guests.  Executive Chef Christophe Cussac had worked for several years with Joël Robuchon before he became the Executive Chef of Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo with the two Michelin starred restaurant Joël Robuchon Monte-Carlo and the one Michelin starred Yoshi. Christophe Cussac is a true expert in the Mediterranean and Provence cuisine and spent six years as the Executive Chef for the two Michelin starred La Réserve de Beaulieu before he returned to work with Joël Robuchon.

 

KKS4 ep3 Christian Le Squer "Le Doyen" [Paris] & Matthias Diether "First Floor"[Berlin]

Christian Le Squer "Le Doyen" [Paris]

Where Barras, Robespierre and even Bonaparte used to have dinner. During the Belle Epoque, one had to be seen there. Today, Ledoyen is a 3 Michelin Star French gastronomic temple.  Although this place is historically rich, it was not until the arrival of a genius Breton chef – Christian Le Squer – that Ledoyen enjoys its status as one of France’s temple of haute cuisines; to be more precise, 2002 was the year when Chef Le Squer was awarded Michelin’s highest accolade putting him equal to the other Parisian legends such as Alain Passard, Bernard Pacaud etc.

Matthias Diether "First Floor"[Berlin]

A new sense of ease wafts through the Gourmet restaurant first floor in the Palace Hotel Berlin, located in Budapest Street near the Zoological Gardens. Star chef, Matthias Diether, understands the partialities of his upper class guests, and knows how best he can welcome them. His passion for French cuisine shows itself with his modern and individual interpretations. On the distinguished set menu, you will find, for example, John Dory (fish) encrusted in cheese and salsa, braised meat from a wooly pig ‘Berliner Art’, or Valrhona chocolate with cherries and herb ice creams. The interior of the ‘first floor’ in the Palace Hotel Berlin seduces you with elegance and comfort. The fluffy white linen tables make the perfect setting for the culinary art produced by Matthias Diether. This is why, whether you opt for lunch or dinner at this Michelin Star restaurant, it is not just a taste experience, but a whole lot more.

KKS4 ep4 Stéphane Raimbault "L'Oasis"**[Cannes] & Michael Hoffmann "Margeaux" [Berlin]

Stéphane Raimbault L'Oasis**

From the photos of Robert Doisneau to the novels of Francis Scott Fitzgerald, La Napoule has been able to preserve a certain art de vivre based on its light hearted and carefree attitude, as attested by L’Oasis which, 50 years after its creation by the great chef Louis Outhier, remains one of the best restaurants on the Côte d’Azur. L’Oasis does indeed possess several special assets. Firstly there is its verdant patio in the middle of which there is a cascading waterfall that truly is an oasis during heat waves. It is also frequented for its unique trio of chefs comprising the Raimbault brothers: Stéphane, Antoine and François. In a team it is always necessary to have a leader and this role falls to Stéphane who is both the adventurer (he lived 9 years in Japan) and the perfectionist of the family (he picked up his second star at the tender age of 24. The Raimbault brothers' cooking is a hymn to the Mediterranean, with its scents, its tastes and its colours. The fish are caught locally and are bought the very same morning at the marché de Forville in Cannes.

Michael Hoffmann Restaurant Margaux* [Berlin]

At Margaux, his own restaurant right in the centre of Berlin , Michael Hoffmann makes vegetables the stars of his dishes and uses his expert knowledge of ingredients to create exceptional cuisine. Hoffmann works with extreme precision and in a reductive style to create exact flavours. For his aubergine with coriander and Jerusalem artichoke, the aubergine is candied for several weeks then caramelised in olive oil, which produces a kind of dried fruit that unleashes totally new flavours in combination with the smoked Jerusalem artichoke purée, crispy salad stalks and a coriander emulsion. The seasonal vegetable platter, served with an intense vegetable bouillon, has become his signature dish. Cooking all the vegetables individually brings out each of their characters in a wonderful way, allowing their separate flavours to shine through and to combine together to capture the essence of the season.

 

KKS4 ep5 Kolja Kleeberg "VAU"** [Berlin] & Jean-Denis Rieubland "Chantecler NEGRESCO"** [Nice]

Kolja Kleeberg "VAU"** [Berlin]

Situated in the center of Berlin, not far from the beautiful Gendarmenmarkt, Head Chef Kolja Kleeberg was the protégé of famous Josef Viehhauser before he started his very popular VAU.  Kolja Kleeberg strives to use as much local ingredients from Berlin or at least Germany as possible and succeeds quite well with that. The menu often changes, but dishes like aspic of suckling pig with sauerkraut; lobster with mango and black olives; and ox cheek braised in balsamico with thyme polenta and sautéed radicchio are typical dishes from the mind of Kolja Kleeberg.

Jean-Denis Rieubland "Chantecler-NEGRESCO"** [Nice]

It’s a fine birthday gift for the Negresco. Just as this quintessential palace of the Côte d’Azur is preparing to celebrate its one hundredth anniversary, the Michelin Guide has granted a second badge of honor to its restaurant, the Chantecler. While the Negresco had a makeover in 2010, the dining room and its attendant salon have kept their Regency style décor and their beautiful 18th century wood paneling. But a peaceful revolution has been simmering in the kitchen for the past five years, with Jean-Denis Rieubland, a young chef with an expressive talent, at the helm. Named “Meilleur ouvrier de France” in 2007, this native of Agen gained his early experience here in Nice, behind the pianos of the Eden Roc in particular. The pleasure of his return is combined with the challenge of achieving flawless quality in his art.

 

KKS4 ep6 Hans Haas "Tantris"** [Munich] & Raymond Capaldi "Hare & Grace" [Melbourne]

Hans Haas "Tantris"** [Munich]

German Landmark restaurant "Tantris" was founded 1971 and its original interior design, made by Swiss architect Justus Dahinden and slightly updated 2002 by Stefan Braunfels, still feels exotic and strange just as the original intention was. Over the years chefs, including Eckart Witzigmann and Heinz Winkler, have worked at the restaurant and since 1991 the Head Chef is Austrian Hans Haas. Tantris not only have the top chef Hans Haas, they also have famous Head Sommelier Paula Bosch who also joined 1991 and who has access to an unsurpassable cellar of around 60,000 wine bottles. Munich is not close to any sea, but still Hans Haas manages to serve fish and shellfish of absolute world class. The menu is changed daily, but you can expect to have some impeccable tuna or trout during your tasting menu that will send your taste buds to heaven. Of course you can have meat as well, such as a classic roast duck on mustard-seed sauce or dove with marinated cabbage.

Raymond Capaldi "Hare & Grace" [Melbourne]

Hare & Grace was voted the Best Restaurant in Melbourne in the Peoples Choice Category of The Australian Magazine’s Hot 50 Restaurants in Australia, 2012.  Ray has gained experience in the some of the finest hotels and restaurants in the world. They include Gleneagles in Scotland, the Dorchester in London, the British Embassy in Moscow, the Park Lane Hong Kong and Hotel Sofitel Melbourne to name a few.

 

KKS4 ep7 Claude Bosi "Hibiscus" [London] & Sauli Kemppainen "Die Quadragie" *[Berlin]

Doc Claude Bosi "Hibiscus" [London]

The Lyon-born chef Claude Bosi has cooked in some of the best French kitchens in the world, including those of Alain Ducasse and Alain Passard, but he's been making a mark on his own in England for over a decade. At his London restaurant Hibiscus, which first opened in Ludlow twelve years ago, Bosi continues to make French food, but in a way that reflects his city and his travels. He's earned two Michelin stars there and a reputation as one of the best chefs in Europe.

Sauli Kemppainen "Die Quadragie" *[Berlin]

The culinary mastermind at Quadriga at Hotel Brandenburger Hof is Michelin-starred chef Sauli Kemppainen, who remains true to his Finnish origins despite a life of travel. Kemppainen is one of the main exponents of new Nordic cuisine.  The interior of Die Quadriga is just as appealing as the food itself: A Biedermeier secretary, Frank Lloyd Wright's cherrywood chairs, designed in 1904, which correspond perfectly with the cherrywood panels on the walls, which are decorated mainly by works of artist of the Berliner Sezession provided by Seidel & Sohn, an art dealer established 1905; the artworks are for sale. The tableware is KPM porcelain, the silver from Robbe & Berking, the flowers throughout the hotel by an Ikebana master. Incidentally, Die Quadriga is named after the four horses who pull the goddess of victory, a sculpture by Schadow from 1794 on top of the Brandenburg Gate.

 

KKS4 ep8 Dallmyer [Munich] Petrus [London]

Diethard Urbansky "Dallmayr"**[Munich]

On the first floor of this Munich landmark delicatessen, you can dine in the finest possible style thanks to Michelin-starred chef Diethard Urbansky. A team of eight chefs led by Diethard Urbansky prepare dishes with unequalled attention and precision to treat up to 40 guests at a time. Furthermore, the delicatessen on the ground floor guarantees ingredients of the very best quality, delivered as fresh as can be.

Gordon Ramsay's PETRUS - Chef Sean Burbidge

Sean Burbidge began his career in 1993 as Apprentice Chef at the Sutton Arms in Stokesley whilst studying for his NVQ. Having completed his training, Sean went on to gain experience in a number of hotel kitchens before joining Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in August 2003 as Chef de Partie under Head Chef, Simone Zanoni. Sean progressed to the position of Sous Chef at the restaurant and in March 2008 left London to launch Gordon Ramsay au Trianon in Versailles. Once again under the direction of Simone Zanoni, Sean spent two years in Versailles and assisted the restaurant in gaining two Michelin stars in its first year of opening.

 

MASTERCHEFS SERIES 3 [10x26min episodes]

KKS3 ep1 DUCASSE [London] RICO's [ZURICH]

Chef Jocelyn Herland ALAIN DUCASSE at the DORCHESTER [London] 3 Michelin Stars

Born in Auvergne, France, Jocelyn Herland, has worked with Alain Ducasse in Paris for several years. From 1997-2000, he was Chef de Partie at Restaurant Alain Ducasse at 59 Avenue Poincarré (3-Michelin stars). He then moved as Chef de partie to the Restaurant Opéra (1-Michelin star) at the Hotel Inter-Continental in Paris, and as Sous Chef to the Royal Monceau Hotel. In December 2003, when Alain Ducasse introduced new Head Chef Christophe Moret to Alain Ducasse at the Plaza Athénée in Paris, Jocelyn joined him as Sous Chef, progressing to his most recent post as Chef Adjoint (deputy). Jocelyn interprets Alain Ducasse’s cuisine in London in a contemporary and refined way. In keeping with Alain Ducasse’s philosophy, the ingredients are the key elements. Jocelyn Herland only uses the freshest and most seasonal products, strictly sourced for their quality and provenance.

Chef Horst Petermann RICO's KUNSTSTUBEN [Zurich] 2 Michelin Stars

Petermann is a master of innovative-classic cuisine with Mediterranean infl uences. He has never been content with just emulating the French maitres, although he has long been their equivalent – he and Philippe Rochat are the only Swiss chefs to have been awarded the title of “Membre de la Haute Cuisine de France”, which is usually reserved for French chefs. Petermann’s creations have always reflected his own style and an admirable level of continuity – the ultimate prerequisite for substance and a name that becomes programmatic, like that of “Kunststuben”, the name of the restaurant that Petermann and his wife Iris opened on the shores of Lake Zürich almost 25 years ago and that has become one of the most exclusive addresses in Europe.

 

KKS3 ep2 Rene Redzepi, NOMA, Pichmaier SACHER [Vienna]

Chef Rene Redzepi NOMA [Copenhagen] 3 Michelin Stars

Noma is best known for its fanatical approach to foraging but there is much more to this ground-breaking restaurant than the mere picking of Mother Nature's pocket. It's the entire package, from its ingredient ingenuity to flawless execution, that makes it a beacon of excellence and which leads to an emotive, intense, liberating way of eating, unlike any other. Many have copied chef Rene Redzepi's approach, most have failed. For the best in class, Noma really is the number one place to go.

Chef Werner Pichmaier ANNA SACHER Restaurant [Vienna] 2 Michelin Stars

Following extensive renovation work the Anna Sacher restaurant is now radiant in bright green pleasantly offset by black furniture with golden highlights. This interior design merely serves to underscore the splendour of the paintings by Anton Faistauer hanging in the restaurant and the priceless Lobmeyr crystal chandeliers. This interior contrasts starkly with the straight, unpretentious line taken by Sacher's chef de cuisine Werner Pichmaier in his contemporary, light interpretation of traditional Austrian cuisine. It goes without saying that he uses high-quality regional products for all his basic ingredients.

 

KKS3 ep3 Antoni Luis Aduriz MUGARITZ

"Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz MUGARITZ [San Sebastian]

3 Michelin Stars Andoni Luis Aduriz cooked with nearly all the Spanish greats before becoming a household Spanish culinary name himself. After studying at the Donostia School of Cuisine in San Sebastian, Spain, Aduriz worked for Ramón Roteta, Hilario Arbelaitz, Jean Louis Neichel, Juan Mari Arzak, Fermín Arrambide and Pedro Subijana. In1993 he joined the team at el Bulli, headed by Ferran Adrià, and in 1996 moved to a chef position under Martín Berasategui at his eponymous restaurant outside San Sebastian. Two years later he began working on his own at Mugaritz, the restaurant he has run since 1998. Aduriz has been described by the international gastronomic press as “the most important gastronomic phenomenon on the world scene in recent times.” He is regularly highlighted in the pages of prestigious magazines such as the Swedish Gourmet, the French Gault&Millau (where he’s received a 19/20 rating), The New York Times Magazine, Saveur, the Italian Gambero Rosso and the Japanese Cuisine Kingdom or Specialités. In 2002 he was awarded the National Prize for Gastronomy, and the Spanish guide Lo Mejor de la Gastronomía named him “Chef of the Year” and “Patissier of the Year.” In 2003 the Basque Gastronomy Academy awarded him the “Euskadi Prize for Gastronomy to the Best Restaurateur” and in 2005 the Michelin guide awarded him a second star. In 2006 Mugaritz obtained the 10th place in the “The World's 50 Best Restaurants” list awarded by Restaurant Magazine. In 2011, Mugaritz is now considered among the world’s top three restaurants.

KKS3 ep4 Pedro Subijano AKELARRE, Phil Howard THE SQUARE

Pedro Subijano

"Akelarre [San Sebastian] 3 Michelin Stars One of the original stars of the Spanish Gastronomic scene, Pedro is part Paul Bocuse and part Pierre Gagnaire. Absolute Genius with a capital G.

Phil Howard

A chef’s chef, Howard is rarely away from the stove and has won numerous accolades including two Michelin stars (awarded in 1998) & the BMW Square Meal Restaurant of the Year 2008. Afterstudying bio-chemistry at university, he signed up for an apprenticeship at Roux Restaurants before working with such heavyweights as Simon Hopkinson and Marco Pierre White. Known for his classy, but seasonal French food, he has spent much of his career nurturing young chefs and enjoys showcasing his protégé Brett Graham at his other restaurant, The Ledbury in Notting Hill

KKS3 ep5 Michel Roth THE RITZ, Carlo Cracco,

"Michel Roth THE RITZ PARIS [Paris] 2 Michelin Stars

He chose at the age of 15 years, his job: cook. Apprenti à l' Auberge de la charrue d'or à Sarreguemines, il enchaîne les postes à l' Auberge de L'Ill à Illhausern , le Crocodile à Strasbourg , deux Grandes tables étoilées en Alsace et Ledoyen à Paris . Apprentice at the Inn of the plow gold Sarreguemines, it connects the positions at the Auberge de L'Ill in Illhausern the Crocodile Strasbourg, two large spreadsheets starred in Alsace and Ledoyen in Paris. En 1981, il entre comme premier commis au Ritz, place Vendôme . In 1981, he became a chief clerk at the Ritz, Place Vendome. Il collectionne les trophées prestigieux, prix Taittinger en 1985, Escoffier en 1986, Bocuse d'or et Meilleur ouvrier de France en 1991, il devient chef de cuisine de L'Espadon en 1992. He collects trophies prestigious Taittinger prices in 1985, Escoffier in 1986, Bocuse d'Or and Meilleur Ouvrier de France in 1991, he became head chef of The Swordfish in 1992. Le 10 juin 1999, il quitte la place Vendôme pour l'Avenue Franklin Roosevelt chez Lasserre , à la retraite depuis 1997. On June 10, 1999, he left the Place Vendome to the Rue Franklin Roosevelt in Lasserre, who retired in 1997. Puis le Ritz le rappelle en septembre 2001 ce qu'il accepte. Then the Ritz recalls in September 2001 that it accepts. Chevalier dans l' Ordre national du Mérite en 2003, puis Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur en 2006. Knight of the National Order of Merit in 2003 and Knight of the Legion of Honor in 2006. L'Espadon a été récompensé d'une deuxième étoile au guide Michelin en mars 2009. The Swordfish was awarded a second Michelin star in March 2009. Il est le cuisinier français le plus titré. It is the French cook the most successful. Il sait tout en préservant la tradition assurer la continuité de la haute gastronomie française. He knows while preserving the traditional continuity of French haute cuisine.

Chef Carlo Cracco CRACCO [Milan] 2 Michelin Stars

Carlo Cracco is often credited – and occasionally derided – as being the ringleader of a small but important group of Italian chefs attempting to break away from the constraints of cooking 'traditional' food. At his eponymous Milan restaurant he creates challenging cuisine that has won him considerable acclaim from the major Italian guides and two stars from Michelin. If you're not a fan of sea urchins, snails and slugs, though, it may be one to swerve."

 

KKS3 ep6 Heiko Neider DOLDER GRAND, Michel Rostang

Chef Heiko Neider Dolder Grand Restaurant [Zurich] 2 Michelin Stars

Originally from Germany, Heiko Nieder completed his apprenticeship as a chef at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hamburg. His career has taken him from the Restaurant Le Canard in Hamburg, the Hotel zur Traube in Grevenbroich and the Restaurant Vau in Berlin. For five years he was Head Chef at the L'Orquivit in Bonn. It was there, in 2003, that Nieder's creative cuisine won him the Gault Millau title of Discovery of the Year. In 2004 he was awarded a Michelin star and in 2007 17 Gault Millau points. He has held the position of Chef Fine Dining at the Dolder Grand's The Restaurant since the opening. The Restaurant was awarded four Fs by the German magazine Der Feinschmecker (The Gourmet) in June 2008.

Chef Michel Rostang Michel Rostang [Paris] 2 Michelin Stars

Michel Rostang is one of Paris's most creative chefs, the fifth generation of a distinguished French "cooking family." His restaurant contains four dining rooms paneled in mahogany, cherrywood, or pearwood; some have frosted Lalique crystal panels. Changing every 2 months, the menu offers modern improvements on cuisine bourgeoise. Truffles are the dish of choice in midwinter, and you'll find racks of suckling lamb from the salt marshes of France's western coast in spring; in game season, look for pheasant and venison. Year-round staples are quail eggs with sea urchins; fricassee of sole; quenelles of whitefish with a lobster sauce; canard au sang (duck prepared in a duck press with a sauce of red wine, foie gras, and its own blood); and Bresse chicken with mushroom purée and a salad composed of the chicken's thighs.

 

KKS3 ep7 Arzak, Comme Chez Soi,

"Arzak [San Sebastian] 3 Michelin Stars

If you like your food pretty, this is the place. Father-and-daughter team Juan Mari Arzak and Elena Arzak Espina's plates look fantastic: striking, colourful and imaginative, yet for the most part unfussy. The pair run the kitchen as equals and are a major presence in the dining room. Like the food, it pulls off the neat trick of balancing tradition and innovation, with warm, familiar service.
Chef Lionel Rigolet

COMME CHEZ SOI

[Brussels] 2 Michelin Stars

It all began in 1926 when Georges Cuvelier, a brave inhabitant of the southern Belgian Borinage region escaped the coal mines to open a small restaurant in Brussels. A regular customer told him each visit : "Georges, in your restaurant we eat like at home." It did not take long for him to come up with the name "Comme chez Soi". When the restaurant moved to its present location on Place Rouppe, Georges Cuvelier's daughter married Louis Wynants, a pork-butcher from the Flemish town of Tienen. Louis Wynants took the quality of the kitchen to higher levels. Their son was Pierre Wynants. He studied at famous restaurants throughout Europe and met Marie-Thérèse. From this union came two daughters, Laurence and Véronique. Laurence, the eldest, has married Lionel Rigolet, a young culinary talent who rapidly became a key element for the thouse. The couple now has little Jessica and Loïc, a fifth generation..."

 

KKS3 ep8 George Briffard GEORGE V, Gerald Angelmahr KORSO

"Chef Eric Briffard GEORGE V [Paris] 2 Michelin Stars

Who has doubts about the choice of Eric Briffard to command the kitchen of the Four Seasons Hôtel George V---the perfect embodiment of French luxury? Eric's quest for perfection is known to all gourmets. His brilliance, technique and expertise are owed to seven years of touring France and to Joël Robuchon, whose refinement and delicate touch has brought a new standard to presentations. Briffard, the grandson of small farmers who baked their own bread and produced their own nut oil, is at the helm of the largest kitchen team in Europe: 115 cooks, 7 apprentices, 15 sous-chefs and 13 sommeliers---this is quite impressive. Aside from 50 customers in the restaurant , he also oversees room service for 90 to 120 people and the gallery with 200 clients. Seventeen- and eighteen-hour days in the kitchen are not uncommon; six days out of seven, he comes in first and leaves last. His approach consists in getting the best produce in the region, and preparing it with taste and elegance. Try the fresh crab meat or the appetizer of abalone from the Brittany coast with seaweed butter, watercress fondant and hen broth flavored with lemongrass. The course of Normandy scallops with celeriac-black truffle mousseline and green apple rémoulade is a real lesson in freshness and flavors. His saddle of lamb with piment d’Espelette will not dissapoint. Desserts, such as the Mont Blanc Georges V with Mandarin sherbet, are also exceptional.

Chef Gerald Angelmahr Restaurant KORSO [Vienna] 2 Michelin Stars

Angelmahr's new concept is just as interesting as the exciting contrast between the Korso's historic dining room and its illuminated onyx wall. In line with his casual style, Angelmahr combines traditional dishes with creative innovations. Born in 1981 in Schwechat near Vienna, Gerald Angelmahr spent his apprentice years at the famous Hotel Imperial in Vienna. Between 2003 and 2005 he assisted in the opening of the Hotel Le Méridien Vienna as Chef de Partie. Following successful steps in his career at award-winning Restaurant Meinl am Graben and design hotel Aenea in Reifnitz at Lake Wörthersee, Carinthia, Angelmahr returned to the Hotel Imperial in 2007. As Sous Chef he pampered state visitors and crowned heads as well as the guests of award-winning Restaurant Imperial with his culinary creations. The 27-year-old newcomer was the winner of "The Young Wild Cooks" competition in 2007 and underwent practical training with star chef Ferran Adrià."

 

KKS3 ep9 JP Bruneau & Bilbao Guggenheim's Josean Alija

"Chef Jean Pierre Bruneau

BRUNEAU

[Brussels] 2 Michelin Stars

Two stars shine especially bright in the Capital of Europe’s gastronomic constellation. These are those of Jean-Pierre Bruneau’s restaurant, which for 30 years has been perfecting a culinary art that is unanimously acclaimed by real gourmets. Although he respects tradition and well-known recipes, the chef is always seeking to offer a cuisine that is innovative and imaginative yet excludes any eccentricity. Working with the finest products in the tranquillity of his elegant house, Bruneau is therefore not the least bit proud to offer only the very best to a clientele as loyal as it is cosmopolitan. Not only does the caviar come direct from Iran and the truffles from the Carpentries, but the fish, the shell fish, the meat, the poultry and the game are also chosen with the greatest care. And if the cook receives only the “nec plus ultra” from his numerous suppliers, it is because he has a secret shared by only a few of the country’s restaurateurs today: rising early, in order to go to the morning market, as fresh produce is a guarantee of quality. Maintaining good and strong friendships is equally as important.

Chef Josean Martínez Alija

Restaurante Guggenheim

[Bilbao]

My philosophy is a work in progress, which, during nearly two decades, has grown to harmonize with the things with which I most closely identify: basically, the authentic and the natural. In some way, the value of my output will be in the eye of the beholder, but I aim to bring my diners to a world in which everything is special. Perhaps the work consists in discovering where it is exactly—the magic that makes it special. The aromas connect you to memories and create an infinite number of imaginary ideas that invite you to travel and play. It’s where sensitivity and instinct come face to face with consciousness and permit access to a world of endless possibility. To cook is to transform; change; provoke; and conjugate flavors, textures, dreams, and appearances. To cook is to give life to ideas and share unique experiences by taking on new challenges. A dish approaches wisdom when it provokes emotions and promotes good health. To surprise with the familiar is difficult, as it is inherently a challenge; it transports us to the essence: the earth and its bounty. Currently I’m preparing a work which I will present in Identità Golose in Milan under the theme: “The luxury of simplicity,” in which I reflect on the pure essence of my cooking as though it were a brief Japanese poem, or haiku."

 

KKS3 ep10 Yves Mattagne & Gualtieri Marchesi

"Chef Yves Mattagne - The Sea Grill [Brussels] 2 Michelin Stars

Yves Mattagne is a Belgium-born chef critically acclaimed for his dishes at the Sea Grill, one of Brussels’ top restaurants. His abilities and deep affinity with the ingredients paved the path towards the gold medal at the concourse European fish chef competition in 1992. Later, from 1993 to 1999, he was successively awarded the Chef d'Or Gault Millau and L'Oscar Cuisinier by Le Club des Gastronomes de Belgique. At Gourmet Abu Dhabi, diners will be able to taste Mattagne’s awesome seafood cuisine, and understand why he is a two-Michelin-starred chef.

Chef Gualtieri Marchesi MARCHESI [Brescia Italy] 3 Michelin Stars

Gualtiero Marchesi was the first Italian chef to win three Michelin stars and at 78 years young, Marchesi is by far Italy’s most renowned chef; having created a string of award-winning restaurants and the culinary philosophy ‘Total Cuisine’, as set out in his seminal book, The Marchesi Code.

Total cuisine requires attention to every detail, and when Marchesi opened his first restaurant in Milan in 1977, was something of a revolution. Within six months, Ristorante Gualtiero Marchesi had earned him his first Michelin star and by 1985, the restaurant had three – a first for Italy."

MASTERCHEFS SERIES 2 [13x26min episodes]

KKS2 ep1 Michel Roux GAVROCHE, Helene Darroze

LE GAVROCHE - London Michel Roux [2 Michelin Stars]

The Master's Master.

The brother's Roux have single-handedly been the breeding ground for all the top 2-3 star Michelin Chefs in the UK. Their students include Marco-Pierre White, Phil Howard, Gordon Ramsay....the list goes on and on...

HELENE DARROZE - Paris Helene Darroze [2 Michelin Stars]

Grand-Daughter of Michelin-starred Jacques Darroze, the belle-Helene has just taken over the kitchens at London's Connaught Hotel - Blimey!

 

KKS2 ep2 Armen Petrossian, Shane Osborn PIED A TERRE

PETROSSIAN - Paris Armen Petrossian

Petrossian bought these priceless Caviar pearls to the west after the Bolshevik revolution and simply continue to do so.

PIED-A-TERRE - London Shane Osborn [2 Michelin Stars]

Ex-Australia Osborn's dishes keeps being confused as modern French by Haute Gallic gastronomes - strewth!

 

KKS2 ep3 Dominique Bouchet, Pietro Leeman

DOMINIQUE BOUCHET - Paris

Dominique Bouchet [12 Michelin Stars]

A student and part of the team which elevated Robuchon's Jamin to legendary status, Bouchet brings 3 stars to every establishment he has ever worked in from the Hotel Crillon to the Tour D'Argent and now his first-ever private restaurant in Paris.

JOIA - Milan

Pietro Leeman [2 Michelin Stars]

A student of Gualtieri Marchese and disciple of the legendary Freddy Girardet, Swiss-Italian born Pietro Leeman also spent a number of years in Japan which informs his "vegetarian" haute cuisine.

 

KKS2 ep4 Manuel Matinez LOUIS XIII, Anton Mosimann

LOUIS 13th - Paris

Manuel Martinez [2 Michelin Stars]

Named after the King who just happened to be ordained on these premises over Two centuries earlier.

MOSIMANNS - London

Anton Mosimann

The "Master's Master". Mosimann is the only chef in the world who can boast 2 royal warrants and clients which include No.10 Downing St as well!

Trained in Switzerland by one of Escoffier's proteges.

 

KKS2 ep5 Alain Senderens, Christoforos Peskias

ALAIN SENDERENS [previously LUCAS CARTON]

Alain Senderens - 3 Michelin Stars

The "Master of Masters". Alain Ducasse was his protege. Great modern Chefs like Carlo Cracco, Christian Delouvrier and a long list of others have found their epiphany at this Parisien Temple of Gastronomy.

RESTAURANT 48 - Athens

Christoforos Peskias

A disciple of Charlie Trotter, Peskias deconstructs classic Greek Cuisine and imbues it with a modern gastronomic patina. The dining room is also an architectural masterpiece.

KKS2 ep6 Arnaud Bignon SPONDI, Michael Lambie

SPONDI - Athens

Arnaud Bignon - 2 Michelin Stars

Ex protege of Eric Frechon [Paris' Bristol], Bignon has received the first 2-star rating ever given to a restaurant in Greece. And it's well deserved!

TAXI - Melbourne

Michael Lambie

Ex -3 star Marco-Pierre White Restaurant executive chef Lambie has embarked on a modern cuisinal course whilst in a Melbourne landmark restaurant.

 

KKS2 ep7 Guillarme Brahimi, Shannon Bennett VUE DE MONDE

VUE DE MONDE - Melbourne

Shannon Bennett

Already a Melbourne institution, Bennett studied many years under London masters before applying his craft.

BENNELONG @ SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

Guillaume Brahimi

A disciple of the legendary Joel Robuchon [he even completed 3 stages at Jamin!], Brahimi brings his Parisien technique to an Architectural Icon - The Sydney Opera House.

 

KKS2 ep8 Tadashi Takahashi NOBU, Justin North BECASSE

NOBU - Melbourne

Tadashi Takahashi

NOBU - Need anything be said? Robert DeNiro's infatuation on a plate.

BECASSE - Sydney

Justin North

A student of Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir, NZ born North found his epiphanies at Paris' Pierre Gagnaire and then, of all places, at Liam Tomlin's Sydney restaurant.

KKS2 ep9 Peter Doyle, Matt Moran

PIER - Sydney

Greg Doyle

The King of all things Fish in Australia.

ARIA - Sydney

Matt Moran

Following in the footsteps of his close friend Gordon Ramsay, Matt Moran also has his TV show "THE CHOPPING BLOCK" as well as consulting for Singapore Airlines.

KKS2 ep10 Robin Wickens, Mark Best

INTERLUDE - Melbourne

Robin Wickens

Classically trained in London then trailblazing into the world of Molecular Gastronomy, Wicken's humour is very evident in the spectacular dishes he assembles.

MARQUE - Sydney

Mark Best

A disciple of Alain Passard, Best came to cooking quite late in life but seems to have made up for it with his talent for dishes with a zest of zen.

 

KKS2 ep11 Yoshii Ryuichi, Lefteris Lazarou VAROULKO

YOSHII - Sydney

Yoshii Ryuichi

Mixing foie-gras with sushi is one of Ryuichi Yoshii's ways to bridge the gap between Western Food-Wine marriages. His is the "vice-versa" of East meets West.

VAROULKO - Athens

Lefteris Lazarou - 1 Michelin Star

Absolutely fresh fish [just caught] is the start of what goes on the plate at this very awarded and iconic Athens restaurant [with views of the Acropolis!].

KKS2 ep12 Marcus Wareing BERKELEY, Jean-Louis Nomicos LASSERRE Paris

PETRUS @ BERKELEY - London

Marcus Wareing [2 Michelin Stars]

Wareing is Gordon Ramsay's partner in Culinary Crime. A fastidious perfectionism yields sublime examples of current food art.

LASSERRE - Paris

Jean-Louis Nomicos - 2 Michelin Stars

Nomicos is a student of Senderen's Ducase as well as Marchesi and after 8 years at Lassere, has founds his own unique direction.

KKS2 ep13 Alain Passard L'Arpege , Gordon Ramsay

ALAIN PASSARD - Paris

3 Michelin Stars

GORDON RAMSAY - London

3 Michelin Stars

Gordon Ramsay

Before Gordon became a TV celebrity, he was quite a good chef.

MASTERCHEFS SERIES 1 [16x26min episodes]

KKS1 ep1 Tony Bilson, Alain Passard, Sergi Arola

Tony Bilson- Sydney

There are some absolutely mind opening experiences that one has in restaurants if you are interested in it. Some people just go along and go 'munch, munch, munch'. I go along and weep. The brilliant guys, like Guy Savoy in particular, have the ability - there is a lovely Ducasse saying,"to take something that is already really good and turn it in to something beautiful". I think one of the reasons why the great French chefs and the Japanese get on so well is that they recognize in the food that is on the plate, the relationship to seasons, to agriculture and to the history of the culture.

Alain Passard - Paris***

The great dishes of tomorrow will hardly be touched by the cook's hand at all It's very difficult for me to express where the feelings of creativity come from in my art. I'm very inspired by the visual, by what I see around me. For example, the transparency of crystal, the thread of a table cloth or even the range of produce one can buy all help to inspire me. I'm talking about when the eye looks deeply and really sees. The colour of a herb, the curve of an eggplant, the translucent nature of a white onion, the colour of a date or the perfume of a cumin, all these things are a part of the sensual journey that is inspiring me.

Sergi Arola - Madrid**

15 years ago I was watching the filming of a video clip of one very famous Spanish singer and guitarist Raymundo Madoris . He played Jimmy Hendricks with a Spanish guitar! I thought 'he is touched by God for playing guitar'. When I realized I could never arrive to the level of playing as Raymundo, I changed from a career in music to cuisine and I found in cuisine the same fight, the same passion and the same capacity of composing as in music.

 

KKS1 ep2 Pierre Gagnaire, Walter Trupp, Gordon Ramsay

"Pierre Gagnaire - Paris ***

Three Michelin Stars is like Formula One racing , it is intense competition. I know that and I like that. I am somebody who tries to give sense to my job. The way I cook is an expression of all my life. Why cooking? Because I have no choice. My family was in this business and I too felt with my head that it was also possible to give emotion to the people. Yes I worked in many places for over 10 years, but I did not understand the meaning of it, because it was always the same thing, always the same produce, no emotion…I learnt all the little techniques - the bad style of escoffier , it was a kind of repetition, no sense, average produce...

Walter Trupp - Melbourne

My biggest surprise was that people in Australia are interested in what you do. They sit all night , really want to be entertained and question the food. In London, there can be 3-4 sittings in one night, nobody questions what is in the food, or how you do it.

Gordon Ramsay - London ***

I was once slated in the Sunday Times for having a failed football career and a shot gun wedding by getting my wife ‘up the duff ‘ was the exact words so I had to marry her. This was by a talented writer by the name of AA Gill who writes in the Sunday Times - a food critic. I asked him politely not to come and review my new restaurants. Lo and behold he turns up with Joan Collins. No-one would actually think that I had the bollocks to evict the whole table, and I kicked the whole lot out. I am constantly obsessed with what is going on in New York. I am constantly obsessed with Charlie Trotter’s new menu. I am constantly obsessed with what Thomas Keller is doing at the French Laundry. I admire Ferran Adria at El Bulli in Rozasse [Spain]. I travel frequently, so I need to stay that little edge in front.

KKS1 ep3 Guy Savoy, Geoff Lindsay, Aimo et Nadia

"Guy Savoy - Paris ***

Rostropovich comes here very often. I design a special menu card each time he comes. The first time he came he ordered the veal kidney. The waiter asked him if he liked it rare, medium or well done, and he replied "Do you believe that when I am playing for 300 people I ask them the way they want me to play?"

Geoff Lindsay - Melbourne

This tyranny of distance and this isolation that we have breeds this special kind of character that Australians have, that you need to suck the marrow of every chance you have to go to London or New York. To have a great desire for knowledge, a great desire for travel, and the feeling that we have to go and search for it ourselves, it is not just going to come to us.

Aimo et Nadia - Milan **

At a certain point in time I discovered that my work, without realising it, was pleasing people. I wasn't aware that there could be a financial reward from being noticed by the food writers in the press. I received the first and second Michelin stars without really knowing, without a conscious thought of it. I was simply progressing my cuisine in my own culinary world. The personality and flavour of a product inspires you in the first place. Beethoven must have been inspired by a small bird that was chirping. Van Gough was inspired by colour. When I visit the market and see a zucchini, taste an oil, or see a cut of meat , I am able to assemble these ingredients in my mind.

KKS1 ep4 Michel del Burgo, Neil Perry, Anton Mosimann

"Michel del Burgo & Jean-Claude Vrinat- Paris ***

I tasted 'heaven' when I tried one of Michel's new dishes. I love sweet potato pie and what Michel did was out of this world. A good chef has talent when he can make something out of potato out of a simple fish, not with lobster, not with truffles, not with foie gras. One of my best memories in fact was a private concert by Yehudi Menuhin for his friend Isaac Perlman playing violin at the end of the meal for 10 minutes. Yehudi Menuhin played Happy Birthday and went on and on. Isaac Perlman stood up and said 'Yehudi give me your violin and then he played for 15 minutes and Daniel Barenboin asked 'Mr. Vrinat have you got a piano?', and I replied 'Unfortunately no'. He said 'Oh I can't play'. At that point, I wished I had a piano!.

Neil Perry - Sydney

People today actually fullfill their sort of skillless life with food by watching someone else preparing it. It is like you are sitting there and watching this happen and you think 'I am hungry now, I can eat'. You feel like you have done something because you actually participated in a food programme.

Anton Mosimann - London

Japan was a tremendous experience for me. The Japanese style of cooking was all about freshness, the way it is cooked, or not cooked at all. Even the presentation was an eye opener for all of us, but especially for me. I absorbed a lot of the techniques and ideas from the Japanese culture and start thinking 'This is the way of eating and I like it, no cream no butter'. In St. Moritz I worked at the famous Palace Hotel with the head chef Monsieur de France. De France trained in London at the Savoy hotel with Escoffier. Escoffier was the head chef and de France was the commis. He was 85 years of age and it was an incredible experience for me.

KKS1 ep5 Jean-Louis Nomicos, Teague Ezard, John Burton-Race

"Jean-Louis Nomicos-Paris**

The magic of the kitchen is the continuous creativity. You always create and you have to re-invent yourself twice a day. You work with products that are alive, that come from the earth. Depending on the season you cook them accordingly. You try to be creative. That's my passion, and of course you try to please the customer.

Teague Ezard - Melbourne

It wasn't that long ago where most restaurants were French/Italian. The preparation of the food was done earlier in the day and basically the chefs rock up, cook and serve it. The difference with leaning towards Asian Style which has become more and more dominant in Australia is that you are always cooking. There are 3 to 5 steps of putting together a dish . For example, a scallop dish that we serve," steamed scallops with a peanut man juis and Thai salad", you have got to mortar and pestal your paste to order, you taste your paste, you season your paste, you steam your scallops, and it all comes together and it is taste checked, taste checked, taste checked.

John Burton-Race -London **

You have to have a passion and sometimes I guess it gets in the way of your personal life. You have to be driven and there are not a lot of people that work for you that might like it. You have to be positive, you have to be very sure of yourself, you have to have arrogance and you have to have strength, an inner strength, and then a desire to push out the boundaries and take yourself over that. The guys that really succeed are the ones that go over the pain barrier. Asian and French cuisine are completely different and it is not just about the flavours, it is about the actual cooking. In Asia, the fat you cook in was very, very expensive, sometimes much more than the protein itself. Hence something went in, and something came out very quickly and you ended up with a crisp crunchy texture, whether it was vegetables, or protein. When it comes to spicing things, Asian cuisine 'coats' and doesn't marinade the fish or the meat - so you don't destroy it's underlying flavour.

KKS1 ep6 Dominique Bouchet, Paul Wilson, Shane Osborn

"Dominique Bouchet - Paris ***

I don't consider Robuchon a genius. Looking back, I think that he had such a rigor and will to be the best that he was asking the extreme from his cooks, it was horrendous. I remember crying while working and that some cooks broke down and left. I stayed 5 years maybe because of my pride but I said to myself: 'No I won't break, I will stay.' He was so hard, it was inhuman, it was horrible. You really had to have faith and to love your work to stay with him. I think this is why he won in the end This is why he became the Great Chef 'Joel Robuchon'.

Paul Wilson - Melbourne

I was bored in London, to be honest. I felt like I needed to learn something else. I was infused by Thailand, and just Asian food in general so I felt that Australia would be a great sort of starting point.

Shane Osborn - London **

I am standing at the bar and saying good night to the customers and they start speaking to me in French. I say 'I am sorry I speak a little bit of French but not much'. They then ask 'Where are you from?', I reply 'I am from Australia', they say 'Oh no, I can't believe it. Australians don't cook like this!"

KKS1 ep7 Eric Frechon, Tim Pak Poy, Tom Colicchio

"Eric Frechon - Paris **

You learn the rigour, you learn how to refine the things, but then if you are a real chef, you know exactly what you want to do. The spirit of Chef Frechon is the result of 15 years of work with others but then his own personality comes through.

Tim Pak Poy - Sydney

My interest in European food came from a different point in the sense that I was looking for things that I couldn't learn here. So I did a course in Perfumerie in Paris to learn the art of trapping flavour. It is understanding of how to encapsulate flavour and to offer it to people in an accessible way. One of the simplest way that we know of trapping flavour is by using fat - any fat, whether it be olive oil or animal fat. In perfumerie you would follow the notes and so composing a series of notes into something that sings for itself. At the end of the day the sum has to be greater, than all of the parts.

Tom Colicchio - New York

It about staying power it is not about being a flash in the pan. You constantly have to reinvent what you are doing. You can't rest on your laurels. It is also a matter of staying fresh because there are obviously younger chefs who may also want to take more risks. And so you have to keep up with them and take as many risks. Food has become more grounded and it is not this soaring sculpture that we are looking for anymore. It is not about 8 ingredients on a plate anymore. I think that is the worst thing that America sort of dumped on cuisine is that adding all these thing when you see mango, salsa, chutney, relish yada yada yada.

KKS1 ep8 Christian Delouvrier, Michael Lambie, Heinz Winkler

"Christian Delouvrier - NY LESPINASSE

To survive in New York you have to be successful. It's very Bottom Line. New Yorkers are happy to pay but they have to get an experience. That is what it is all about.

Michael Lambie - Melbourne

He [Pierre Marco White] was like a rockstar chef and he showed us that anyone could make it happen. I didn't think that he was a particularly good cook, but he had about 6 or 7 dishes that he knew how to do really well and he used to change them all around. We used to have a joke in the kitchen when Marco would say "Oh Michael I want to have a menu meeting with you". I used to get a piece of paper and cut it up into six things and write Red Mullet , Beef in Red Wine etc , put it all in a hat and ask myself "What we are going to do today for the new menu?, o.k. we are going to do Beef, with deep fried leeks and that is how we would come up with our new menu.

Heinz Winkler - Munich ***

Today, the repertoire of a young chefs is limited because they only work in 2 or 3 restaurants and not in 15 or more. Anton Mosimann and myself were always looking for new places to learn, looking all over Europe for the best Chefs to train with, from Italy, from France and we took ideas from everywhere. You store all this information and every time we create a new plate, you draw from all these experiences. In Germany, haute cuisine never existed - all that existed was sauerkraut and basic ingredients. Nowadays, the food people demand is lighter. We recreated the original plates and made them much lighter and healthier but its origins are heavy stodgy food.

KKS1 ep9 Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Tetsuya Wakuda, Phil Howard

Jean-Georges Vongerichten- NY

Working in a 3 star restaurant it is like entering the Mafia. I never had to find another job'. If I wanted to go to the south of France, to Louis Outhier, it was a phone call away and two weeks later I was there.

Tetsuya Wakuda - Sydney

Recipes guide us how to do it and then that little touch, just the right amount of salt even for example makes the dish. The degree of cooking each fish - cooked through, cooked just a little bit under or that sort of thing, it makes a huge difference… that is a chef. I love food, but at that point in time I never thought that this becomes my profession. And almost about year later I met the chef Tony Bilson and he basically taught me cooking but I mean French cooking. At that time I think he thought that I'm Japanese so maybe we can do some Japanese bit and pieces.

Phil Howard - London **

To achieve that final 10% of perfection you need to cut out all the emotional content of cooking and get a strategy. Stop playing around everyday with different ingredients, and stop acting on sponteneity. Training your staff to understand exactly what you are doing. Being able to reproduce the same dish perfectly as quickly as possible. Marco Pierre White had the ability of identifying fantastic combination of flavours from wherever it may be in the world. Taking the essence of a dish and without exception improving it both in content and presentation so what you are getting on the plate was the most beautiful food that had ever been produced in the country. You will never be able to repeat the Beatles or the Stones.He represents to cooking what they represent to music.

KKS1 ep10 Daniel Boulud, Liam Tomlin, Bernhard Diers

"Daniel Boulud - New York

At Le Cirque I was flying. Sirio was like 'Oh I'm sorry.. it would be 9.30 at night, I forgot to tell you I have 12 friends coming tonight. Can you make me a little menu?' And then I learnt that the 12 friends were of course, Italian press, French press, VIP chefs. That was my chance to impress him. I would think 'Oh you forgot to tell me, well I'm going to show what I can do for you!

Liam Tomlin - Sydney

In Switzerland I worked in the Hotel Central in Zurich and It was there I met chef Bruno Enderlich. He was someone who took you under his wing and explained to you about produce, and explained to you about seasons. Everything you did, Bruno would just come along and do something to it and it would change the whole dish entirely. He pushed himself. For example on his days off he would go work for Freddie Girardet and they he would come back and tell us about this guy Freddie Girardet.

Bernhard Diers - Munich **

Good food is important for your well being, it is important for your health, your day and gives you energy to be able to do things. My dishes are the transfer of my creative energy and the energy of my kitchen staff, to the customer. This food must give the customer the visual of my ideas and creativity and must taste good as well, light and not heavy.

KKS1 ep11 Eric Chavot, Peter Doyle, Charles Masson, Ian Scully

"Eric Chavot - London **

Kaufmann was a mess. You had to guess everything, I'd ask 'Chef what is the maison plus?' And he would answer ' I'll tell you later!' That was at 9 o'clock. Later at half past 12 when the first guest arrives, he would say 'Get me this, get me that'. It was kind of a game, like cat and mouse. By the time I got to Raymond Blanc, it was like a dream. You open a cardfile and you have the recipe.

Peter Doyle - Sydney

Three years into my apprenticeship thre was a revolution in cooking called Nouvelle Cuisine, Leo Scoffield started writing about Tony Bilson and I read a couple of articles and I thought I better go and try this out. So we went for dinner, I took Beverley for her birthday, in 1976 or 77, and it was just mindblowing. I just knew I had to go to France and find out for myself.

Charles Masson & Ian Scully - New York

MASSON:Salvador Dali once commented to my father 'Mr. Masson you throw the money out the windows but it comes back to you through the doors'

SCULLY: I read about the London Chefs in cook books and magazines and Chef Michel Bourdain inspired me the most. After four years of hotel school, I went to the Connaught in person and met with Michel and ten days later the only position they had was in the Pastry and as a second Commis so I started in the pastry. I was then at the Ritz after the Connaught where I was the number 2 Chef for two years.

KKS1 ep12 Jacques Reymond, Hans Haas, Carlo Cracco,

"Jacques Reymond - Melbourne

I rode my motor bike from Crizot for about 5 hours, went around the back and walked straight into the kitchen with 22 cooks looking at me wearing a motor bike helmet and asked to see the Chef. Chef Jacque Picard took me to one side and asks what I want. I say I want to come and work here. There is a big silence in the kitchen and everyone starts to laugh. He says ' No one has ever done what you have done, and I will give you a chance. You can start next week'.

Hans Haas - Munich **

My inspiration is coming from nature - for example when I cook a rabbit , since rabbit eats carrots and lettuce , I serve rabbit with carrots and lettuce. I want the produce to be distinctive and honest . I don't try to wrap a potato five times so it does not look like a potato . I try to keep a product simple and to process it minimally so that the result is a very light , tasty dish. I keeps the vegetables very simple, very lightly cooked. For sauces I don't like to reduce them very much and prefer to keep them light . To thicken them I would rather grate a small amount of potato into it and maybe then at the very end add a little bit of butter. The sauce then tastes very fresh, simple and doesn't overpower the produce.

Carlo Cracco - Milan **

It was not until I worked with Gualtiero Marchese that I understood for the first time, what cooking was really about. Other chefs gave me a basic understanding of working with produce, but Marchese was the first to elevate cooking into an art form. I was 20 years old and for the first time I understood that things were happening in the kitchen. I then went to work for Alain Ducasse.

KKS1 ep13 Eberhard Muller, Thomas Byrne, Sergio Mei,

"Eberhard Muller - New York,

Since I last saw you, I bought a farm and I am actively farming together with my wife and we actually supply most of the major restaurants with our vegetables in New York. Most commercial farms in the country are mono cultures or almost anywhere in the world, there are farms that grow broccoli, there are farms that grow carrots. They specialise in one or two things. Because I am a chef and I want it all, we grow everthing. When you come back this summer and taste the Heirloom Tomatoe Salad you will see why. There are 18 different varieties of tomatoes, of flavours, of texture components that I can play with.

Thomas Byrne - Geneva *

When you are young, you have so much ambition, you have so much curiosity, and a lot of creativity and then when you get to working 30 years in the same profession you have very solid values. For example, your taste, the way in which you smell things. Your sight, the way in which you see food cooking. You know exactly whether it is cooked. You can hear the cooking. You assemble ingredients in your head. You only have to see a naked flame and place a pan with a piece of fish and you know. You don't have that in your youth.

Sergio Mei - Milan **

One of my signature dishes is a special spaghetti with Tomato and Basil and for me it is still a joy to cook spaghetti with tomato and basil. Almost anyone can cook Spaghetti and you can find it everywhere but to me it is the way in which I prepare it which makes it distinctive. It is through my continuous research of ingredients that I have discovered a very particular tomato - from Sicily which is called a Pachino tomato . It comes from a little tiny village in Sicily and I have them shipped to me daily

KKS1 ep14 Fergus Henderson, Roberto Caraguti, Restaurant 7

"Fergus Henderson - London

Architecture you create space for people and it affects the way in which they occupy it, the manners of sort of behaviour and with food you do the same thing but intently the nature of the affair is the bone to gnaw on, or a crab to grapple with, you kind of affect their behaviour so this way I pop them inside and out. which is very satisfactory. You create the space and feed them. It is not about distractions or lots of art on the wall or lots of marble and brass. It is not particularly neutral either it has a sense of spirit of occassion I think, it is sort of the fact that you have to go through the long corridor and the sense of kind of arrival and discovery.

Roberto Caraguti - Geneva

When you are a cook, you are always making a creation. And that is a funny thing about this profession because when some of them like my father and my son and others too, when they do something it is like if there were artists really. They are so happy with what they are doing and then maybe they change a little bit, and the colours too are very important.

Nori & Suki - Restaurant 7 - Sydney

Charlie Trotter did not cook much but he was unbelievable when it came to composing recipes in his mind. He would tell us "Add that much wine. This produce with that . Oysters in red wine" . At the last minute he would ask me "Nori I need oyster with red wine emulsion with little fennel and stuff". The result was incredible.

KKS1 ep15 Sirio Maccione, Danilo Ange, Michel Roux

"Sirio Maccione - LE CIRQUE - New York

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor came in and they looked at the table but it was a banquette and they were only two of them. I said please your highnesses come in, I showed them to a table and I said, I think for the two of you this is better. The Duke of Windsor said to me, "Never think for me what is better", just like that. They were not very happy but then I asked them to order and I gave them two small appetizers. They looked around and said "Who is Italian here, who is from Montecatini?" I said it is I, and they looked at me and everything changed.

Danilo Ange - Milan

Cooking was my passion from when I was a youngster. My mother tells me that when I was a young boy , I was always saying that I'd be a cook or a photographer. Now I am chef with a passion for photography. In terms of organisation, the Italian chefs have a lot to learn from the French but if you look at Italian cuisine, fortunately we have a incredible gastronomic patrimony which does not need to envy any other place in the world.

Michel Roux - Gavroche - London

Portraying cooking as an art is wrong. Cooking is more than an art – it is giving pleasure to so many different senses. It is not only visual, it is mental, it is your sensory glands, your nose, feel as well, because you’re crunching into food, you’re not just slurping. It is everything – a total experience.

KKS1 ep16 Claudio Sadler, Marcus Wareing, Jean-Jacques Rachou, Pietro Leeman

"Claudio Sadler - Milan

My dishes are simple dishes. I don't like sauces. I like a piece of meat, a piece of fish, I like the vegetables, I like olive oil, I like the spices and I put these things together, Sea Bass - for me it is enough to serve with some mushrooms on the top, the herbs and olive oil and cooking very quickly. We have beautiful pieces of beef - I decide whether we cook them for a long time or a short time so, but I prepare a sauce because it is important but I don't make it a big elaboration.

Marcus Wareing - London

People say that fine dinning is dying, I find that a hideous thing to say because people, no matter who you think you are, no matter what you think of food, somewhere in your life or somewhere down the line we all want to be pampered.

Jean-Jacques Rachou - New York

New York in 1962 was very different. At the time we didn't have the produce that we have available now. Now you are able to find anything you want, any type of mushroom, truffles, creams, vegetables, fish, it is a very big, big change.

Pietro Leeman - Milan

Dishes have a meaning in a part of the world and in another region, it has no meaning. The meaning is the culture of the region, the taste of the people, the climate – many things. So by talking things from Italy like spaghetti with tomato and re-interpreting the recipe, you don’t lose the meaning. In the orient the first bite is very important but the meaning goes deeper. Centuries ago in Europe, the grandmother took the duck, killed it and cooked it. Today in Europe we don’t have this relationship with food. We go to the supermarket and buy the duck already prepared - that is food but not the animal. In the orient they still have the connection to the animal. In Japan they have soups where the fish swimming inside and you drink it.