Where the Chefs Eat: Alain Ducasse’s favourite restaurants in the world

As a young man, he trained under Michel Guérard, Roger Vergé and Alain Chapel. He is credited with turning vegetables into delicacies – stars in their own right, if you will – at Le Louis XV in Monaco, where he was offered the position of head chef in 1987 by Prince Rainier himself. Set within the Hôtel de Paris, it is a highly opulent address and known as one of the world’s most elegant venues, yet it has never had so much as one Michelin star. The caveat to taking the position was that Ducasse had to earn the restaurant three stars within four years, or he would be out. He earned three stars in three years and, at just 33, became the youngest chef in the world to achieve such a feat. Joël Robuchon then announced his retirement from the Hotel du Parc in Paris, another heavyweight gastronomic address and, just eight months after Ducasse entered that kitchen, Michelin awarded it three stars. This was only the beginning of his stratospheric rise, and today, with 21 notches on his Michelin belt and protegees that include Clare Smyth and Claude Bosi, Ducasse takes immense pride in his École Ducasse Culinary School in Paris.

We talk of legacy, and he slightly baulks, urgently telling me he isn’t hanging up his hat anytime soon (my words, not his), but his culinary academy is what he eventually wants to be remembered for most (his words, not mine). “I’m still working every day, but what is most important to me now is my school. Every year, we have around 750 students from 80 nationalities, so they will take all the knowledge back to their countries and spread it. I have a passion to share my knowledge with everybody in the world.” His advice for anyone going into the restaurant industry is simple: “Be curious. And always check what’s going on around you. Know your competition. That competition is always evolving and growing. You need to make sure you’re unique and not doing the same as other people around you.” Remaining unique and constantly evolving underpins Ducasse’s success but he also credits his achievements to his incredible team and quickly tells me “there are lots of women [working for me], too. In Monaco, my restaurant manager is a woman. In London, too. There are fewer problems with women than with men. The men have the ego.”

We chat about his favourite restaurants, but he is quick to tell me that he will give them to me, “but they’re my favourites today. In three months, it could be five totally different places. And food is only a part of it. It’s all about creating memories and an unforgettable experience, a real moment for the guests.” And, with that, Alain Ducasse gives his five favourite restaurants, for now…

Prevelle, Paris

Romain Meder, the man behind Prevelle, was my chef for 10 years at the Plaza Athénée, and it’s a new place that just opened a few weeks ago. It is all focused on natural, seasonal, and local food and is named after the hamlet where he grew up, but it is right in the heart of Paris, near Les Invalides in the 7th arrondissement.

Orfali Bros. Bistro, Dubai

This is run by three young Syrian guys called Mohammad, Wasim and Omar Orfali. They are originally from Aleppo but fled the regime of Assad and moved to Dubai. Ofali Bros. opened in 2021, and they are now really well known for their pastries, so they have one cook and two pastry chefs who are both classic pâtissiers producing the sort of pastries you’ll find in France. They are not allowed to serve any alcohol, so they’ve come up with these wonderful non-alcoholic pairings, and they’ve got very involved in fermentation – kombucha and amazake – so it’s all very interesting and unusual.