My Paris: Interview with Chef Amaury Bouhours

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My Paris: Interview with Chef Amaury Bouhours
Chef Amaury Bouhours (33) helms the 2-Michelin-star Alain Ducasse Restaurant and Le Dali at Le Meurice Hotel, Paris. “Amaury combines a youthful outlook and fresh approach to ‘Essential Cuisine’ with his passion for authentic flavors and contemporary French gastronomy,” says Monsieur Ducasse. The chef’s brilliant career took off in Monaco at Le Louis XV. Then Bouhours came to Paris to continue working with Alain Ducasse at the Plaza Athénée, subsequently joining Le Meurice as chef de cuisine, under Jocelyn Herland (now at Relais Plaza, Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Paris). Today he’s proud to be executive chef. Guests return time after time to sample his delicious vision of French cuisine: light, subtle, sustainable, 95% locally sourced. Here he shares his favorite Paris addresses and insider city recommendations. The Dali at Le Meurice © Pierre Monetta Where were you born? In the Paris region, the 92nd arrondissement of the Hauts de Seine. When I was 6, we moved to Compiègne (Oise department), the perfect place to grow up. In the middle of nature, famous for its dense forest, Napoleon’s imperial palace- a breath of fresh air 45 minutes from Le Meurice! Your favorite Paris ‘hood? Le Marais. Cobblestone streets, quirky boutiques, multi ethnic, marvelous places to eat, drink, people watch. Place des Vosges in the Marais district. Photo: Bonjour Paris Three words to describe Paris? Historic, romantic and gastronomique. What do you love most about Paris? The history’s fascinating, showcased in the architecture, reflected in the gastronomy, the art – everything, everywhere! “There are only two places in the world where we can live happy: at home and in Paris.” ― Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast. Cementery Père Lachaise (C) Peter Poradisch, CC BY 2.5 If you could share a coffee or a bottle of wine with a Parisian past or present, who would it be? Jean Gabin, the late great actor of French cinema! French Can-Can, Inspector Maigret, Le Jardinier d’Argenteuil, Le Clan Sicilian etc. Born in Paris in 1904, he died in Neuilly in 1976 and was cremated at Père Lachaise Cemetery, his ashes scattered, romantically, off the Brittany coast. A local you admire? I’m a fan of PSG and football in general. I would say Kylian Mbappé; he has an impressive career and he’s only 23, so young. The last time I looked, the boy from the Paris suburb of Bondy had more Insta followers than President Macron !
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Lead photo credit : Amaury Bouhours © Sadik

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Born in Hampton, Middlesex, UK, Margaret Kemp is a lifestyle journalist, based between London, Paris and the world. Intensive cookery courses at The Cordon Bleu, London, a wedding gift from a very astute ex-husband, gave her the base that would take her travelling (leaving the astute one behind) in search of rare food and wine experiences, such as the vineyards of Thailand, 'gator hunting in South Florida, learning to make eye-watering spicy food in Kerala;pasta making in a tiny Tuscany trattoria. She has contributed to The Guardian, The Financial Times Weekend and FT. How To Spend It.com, The Spectator, Condé Nast Traveller, Food & Travel, and Luxos Magazine. She also advises as consultant to luxury hotels and restaurants. Over the years, Kemp has amassed a faithful following on BonjourParis. If she were a dish she'd be Alain Passard's Millefeuille “Caprice d'Enfant”, as a painting: Manet’s Dejeuner sur l’herbe !