Alain Ducasse must be a smart man. After all he has successful restaurants in France, Monaco, Italy, Japan, Hong Kong, Mauritius, the UK, and the US. His 27 restaurants have been awarded a total of 19 Michelin stars, with the most recent star-rating going to Spoon here in Hong Kong. 

As a smart man he knows how to make maximum impact and this he did when recently in Hong Kong to launch his new signature dish, the Cookpot. Instead of your typical boring press con that would receive limited coverage he invited select media, all of whom attended, and a French TV crew, to go shopping with him at Mongkok market.

To Market We Go

When Alain Ducasse appeared in the hotel lobby that morning I was a little surprised to see him dressed in jeans, although casual there was still something stylish about the ensemble. He was the first on the bus, followed by executive chef of Spoon in Hong Kong, Philippe Duc, and Simon Kwok, executive sous chef, InterContinental Hong Kong. Waiting in line to board I felt like I was back in high school and we were off on some educational excursion, perhaps it was that memory that led me to head straight to the back of the bus, to the backseat...after shaking hands with Ducasse, of course. After a relatively quick trip we all piled back out of the bus for a brief stroll to the entrance of the market.

From the moment we got to the first stall Ducasse was engaging and playful, especially with the professional photographers that were snapping his every move...he made their job easy. He picked up produce, he smelled produce, he whipped out a little knife to taste bits and pieces, and interacted with stall holders - the whole time done in such a way that each photographer would have walked away with a substantial number of excellent shots. He never tired of being constantly shouted at by the photographers..."here, here, here,"..."look this way,"..."hold it", etc. 

When we got to the stall holder selling frogs he reminisced about growing up in rural south west France and as a child cutting up live frogs, apparently quite common at the time. At a fruit stall he purchased some mandarins after much sniffing and the charming stall holder tried to take advantage of the obvious publicity by stuffing a variety of other fruit in his bag. Kwok had to explain what we were doing, she understood and smiled widely at the cameras when Ducasse left with only the mandarins. Not all the stall holders welcomed a crowd of people with cameras, and in one case, the stall holder insisted we all leave and no photos. A few Hongkongers out doing their morning shopping also began to follow, while others wanted to know who the celebrity was. 

The whole experience was also being filmed by a French TV company who are making a documentary on Ducasse. I can only imagine what the French will think of Mongkok market or me for that matter, as I was one of several media interviewed that day, and was asked about Ducasse and about French food in Hong Kong. 

An Unexpected Host

More that just an exercise in how to look good for the camera we were there to buy some local, seasonal vegetables that could be used for the Cookpot cooking demonstration that was to follow. We ended up with carrot, hairy gourd, chestnut, beetroot, turnip, pumpkin, pear and a local variety of cress. All carefully and intently selected by Ducasse and his right-hand men.

With that taken care of it was time for a snack and Ducasse stopped by a bakery munching on a pineapple bun and a piece of plain sponge before buying boxes of straight-from-the-oven egg tarts that he then personally handed out to the media. This was unexpected, and I must say it was one of the best egg tarts I have eaten.

His charming hospitality continued when we returned to Spoon where we were all served tea and coffee or a cold drink and Ducasse handed out warm croissants and pain au chocolat  - all very civilised, all very French. While we were enjoying ourselves the chefs were setting up the demonstration area and soon we were crammed in the small open kitchen or outside looking in. Again the photographers were going crazy and Ducasse was having fun with them...Ducasse rarely, if ever, cooks these days and so when he went anywhere near a spoon, salt or oil, the flashes were blinding and he tried to get quicker and quicker with his actions, trying to be too quick for the camera.

Of course, there is a time and place for everything and he made sure to get everyone's attention back to the two chefs that were creating and making the Cookpot dish. A dish that would be similar to one that we would be served at the lunch to follow. There was only one moment when Ducasse lost his sense of humour and patience, both of which had impressed me, he genuinely seemed to be enjoying the experience. However, when some of the media were rudely talking amongst themselves (and not that quietly) during the cooking demonstration, he slammed his hand down on the bench and said, "Shut Up Please!", glaring at them to make his point. Quite rightly, I thought.

One Pot Harmony

While our slow-cooked Cookpots were in the oven we had a chance to chat with Ducasse to learn more about the inspiration and idea behind the Cookpot, which will be a signature dish in all of Ducasse's restaurants. This is the first time that the same dish will be available globally and will be a link between all restaurants.

The key difference is that each restaurant's Cookpot is created using local and seasonal produce. The Cookpot currently available at Spoon in Hong Kong is a medley of seasonal vegetables with truffle sauce, while at Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester in London, for example, they served British terrior vegetables and mushrooms with Montgomery cheddar gratin.

Cookpot dishes are designed to be a vegetarian dish and use very little seasonings or aromatics as the idea is to showcase the original taste and flavour of each vegetable or fruit.

The pot itself resulted from Ducasse working with designer Pierre Tachon and took 18-months to develop the best shape, which is slightly turned in retaining moisture while at the same time aiding the cooking process. The porcelain pots then took another nine months to get right; they will be available for purchase at Spoon. 

"It is slow cooking, cooking with feeling, the ingredients are cooked together in their own moisture. The Cookpot encourages cooks, professionals and amateurs, to work with substance more than form," said Ducasse. "It is also a more sustainable way to eat to preserve the planet."

When Ducasse was a child his grandmother would ask him everyday, "What are we eating for lunch?" He would then have to gather vegetables straight from the garden that would form the basis of lunch, an experience that cemented his love for seasonal vegetables. He once joked that he was born in a vegetable garden with a bit of lard and some goose fat! "I have long wanted to create a signature dish, the symbolic, almost philosophical, expression of my cooking that tells of its origins. It could only be a vegetable dish. The vegetables that I love so much and that have been present in my cooking for twenty years."