Michelin star Chef Marcel Ravin brings glory to the Blue Bay restaurant at the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort with amazing skill. From his beginning in Alsace to now, Chef Ravin has made his cuisine all about flavours.
In an exclusive Q&A with Chef Ravin, Lucy Self discovers his true inspirations.
Tell us something about you that most people don’t know?
I don’t eat breakfast except on holiday!
What inspired you to become a Chef?
Watching my Grand-Mother cook with the organic products from her garden when I was 7.
What is your greatest inspiration to cuisine?
Great Chefs like Michel Bras, Alain Ducasse, Joel Robuchon… And currently Jean-François Piège.
What style of cuisine is most underrated?
Molecular cuisine
What element to cooking is overrated?
The oven…
If a genie were to grant you one wish, what would it be?
To get 3 Michelin stars
What was your last thought before going to bed last night?
I thought about my spring menu for the Blue Bay restaurant!
What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning?
I think of my son
What infuriates you?
Hypocrisy, misconduct
What pleases you?
To do the right thing
Which fictional figure do you identify with, and why?
Horacio Caine from CSI Miami (Won’t Get Fooled Again or Les Experts in french)!
I like the way he controls stress, which I often find myself surrounded by.
What’s your favourite place for lunch?
By the sea
What is your favourite season?
Spring because nature awakens softly
Music you love…?
Stromae or Julien Doré
What three things are vital to your day?
My son’s education, Love, Cooking
What is the most useful instrument in the kitchen?
A pressure cooker
What’s your greatest fear?
Anything that affects the mobility of my hands
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Champagne
There’s a fire in your house, what item do you save?
I’ve got at least 500 cookbooks, I would try to save the oldest one I own!
What’s the hardest criticism you’ve ever received?
Regarding my skin colour, but it’s already forgotten ? It was stupid.
What piece of advise would you give your 20-year-old self?
To never give up
What’s your most embarrassing moment?
When I have to speak with hypocritical people
What’s your proudest moment?
When the Blue Bay received its first Michelin star!
What do you think about the most?
To get the second Michelin star !
How old were you when you knew you wanted to do what you are doing today?
14 years old
More of a poet or a philosopher?
Both
Your favourite time of the day?
Night
Name one activity you do every day no matter what!
Cooking
A total waste of time?
Waiting for customers to arrive
Favourite breakfast?
Eggs with bacon, excellent coffee and home made orange juice!
Success is…?
To make your dreams comes true
Failure is…?
When you can’t make your dreams comes true!
Happiness is…?
Health, Love & Passion