Vive La France!

Best friends Cindy Angelina and Kezia Toemion dine at Amuz Jakarta and enjoy delectable culinary delights, Amadea Maya writes

muz’s chef and Founder Gilles Marx has always been attracted to the culinary world. Fresh products and ingredients inspire him to produce quality creations and to transform them into delectable French cuisine.

“My grandfather was the one who encouraged me to be a chef,” he tells Indonesia Tatler. “I come from the countryside and was used to sitting at the table for many long hours to appreciate a good home-cooked meal made by my mum and grandmother.

“Later, when I was at school, I had a bad experience with my school canteen, which made me realise how important it was to have a good-quality food and also that the person who makes it is important. At that moment, I decided that I wanted to make a difference and help people enjoy their food,” says Gilles, whose role model is a three-michelin-star chef Bernard Pacaud. Gilles’s years of experience in pursuing his passion led him to create the celebrated French restaurant Amuz, which puts a lot of emphasis on classical French

Valrhona Chocolate Textures of chocolate short bread, dulce crèmeux and mousse with chocolate crunch and mango passion fruit jelly end the lunch in perfection.

“For me, the most important thing is to have a variety of choices and to be able to choose from a selections of fresh ingredients,” Gilles says. “Most of the time when I walk around a market and see something fresh, the ingredients themselves will give me ideas, and this is when my mind starts to work and think of what I want to do with them.

“The biggest challenge here in Indonesia is to find a supplier that can provide us with consistent stocks of ingredients, and also training and keeping the right people,” he continues. A seafood lover, Gilles very much enjoys cooking and eating fish whenever he lives or travels. “Fish and seafood are definitely my thing,” he says. “We have so many different kinds of seafood in Europe, as well in Asia, so we can do a lot,” he adds. “But my dream one day is to have one of my kids take over my restaurant business. Luckily, or unluckily, that’s still a long way to go as they are now only 12 and 15.”

AMUZ Gourmet Restau rant

The Energy Building 2nd floor, SCBD Lot 11A Jl.jend. Sudirman Kav 52-53, Jakarta 12190 Tel: +62 (21) 250 5064

“When I walk around a market and see something fresh, the ingredients themselves will give me ideas, and this is when my mind starts to work and think of what I want to do with them.”