The French Laundry is one of the world’s most iconic restaurants. Are you thinking of bringing a Michelin-level concept to the Middle East?

No. We are focused on bringing Bouchon Bakery to the Middle East and making new memories for our guests. Whether it is a croissant, a sandwich or a chocolate-chip cookie, the food we serve at Bouchon Bakery inspires joy that speaks across generations.

Whether it’s the French Laundry or your New York restaurant, Per Se, your food can be seen really as personality cuisine. How does that translate overseas?

I turn to the reason that cooks cook. Cooks cook to nurture. Great cooking produces lasting memories. Food memories can come from something as humble as a beautiful piece of toasted bread or a wonderful piece of fruit. At the highest levels, we make food memories by balancing nourishment with joy and excitement. Our work of comprehensive refinement — of cooking at the highest level, at the highest form, using the best ingredients, the best techniques, in the best environments — is all in service of making memories for those eating what we prepare.

How does that approach inform your legacy? Do you think about handing over the mantle or do you want to cook till your knees give out?

It is my hope that as we train and mentor the next generation of chefs, this philosophy continues. We must remember that when we think of cooking, and all of the different cultures and sub-cultures of food around the world and the reason that we all cook, that reason is nourishment. It’s that simple. Another legacy I hope to impart is a ‘Sense of Urgency’. In all our restaurants a Sense of Urgency plaque hangs under the Steak salad.

kitchen clock.

It is something I ask my team to come to work with each day, and it goes beyond just making sure we are prepared and ready to serve. It’s about speed, but it also means investing in what we do with importance.

Great cooking is the accumulation of countless tiny tasks. Taken in isolation, these tasks might seem minimal. But each and every one of them is vital to the whole. And performing them with urgency heightens their significance even more.

What are the signature things we should be looking for at the Bouchon Bakery in Dubai?

We have developed an exclusive local flavour macaroon: Coconut and saffron. This macaroon has fresh saffron baked into the shell and is sprinkled with coconut before baking, then filled with a light coconut custard that delicately compliments the earthy tones of the saffron. We are pleased to introduce a mango eclair, a buttery eclair shell filled with a sweet whipped yoghurt creme fraiche and topped with a white chocolate mango ganache and pieces of fresh mango. Lastly, with a shape and name to honour the legendary French bicycle race between the cities of Brest and Paris, the rosewater Paris-Brest is uniquely filled with delicate rosewater cream, pistachio pastry cream and a sweet later of raspberry jam.

What’s really going to set it apart from other venues in the country? I want to give our Stawberry tart.

guests a glimpse of Paris that I discovered as a young chef; tastes and scents they’ll remember the rest of their lives and — maybe most importantly — an inviting place that inspires people and communities to gather and enjoy being with one another.

Will you be serving Equator Coffee?

Yes we are bringing Equator Coffee to Bouchon Bakery across all the Middle East. It’s based

on a long-time relationship I have forged with the founders of Equator, Brooke McDonnell and Helen Russell, who share a respect for artisan coffee and a desire to have an impact on an industry with evolving social, economic and environmental issues.

How much are you going to use local ingredients? Do customers want this from you?

Yes, I think they do and it’s important that we