Chef Gabriel Kreuther with cuisine rooted in his Alsatian heritage, says that “the beauty [of getting 2 Michelin Stars] is the sense of teamwork, the sense of accomplishment and also the sense of making customers happy. We are in business because we love what we do, we cook, but at the end of the day, we love to cook a little bit for ourselves, and by doing so we engage with customers and make them happy. And hopefully they have a great moment with us.”
What we covered in this episode
From Alsatian cuisine in France to 2 Michelin star restaurant in NYC
- Garbriel Kreuther restaurant received in 2019 and in 2020 Two Michelin Stars. We discuss with Chef Gabriel Kreuther how he and his team felt about it. “A feeling of accomplishment for the past”
- What is the difference between a two stars and a three stars?
- Looking back to his career, Chef Gabriel Kreuther reviews the key milestones that led him to get 2 Michelin stars.
- He always wanted to be a Chef. Chef Gabriel Kreuther started to work while on vacation in the hotel from his uncle in the region of Alsace in France.
- He became the “Meilleur Apprenti de France”. And it was for him a new start and a new thinking approach.
- In 1988 and 1989 he took a Chef position in Washington DC. It was a turning point to him.
- His motivation was (and still is today) to want to understand everything, understanding the “why”.
- Before the time of internet and easy access to information, he spent a lot of time doing research. He always needed to feel that he was learning something.
- He always wanted to work in [kitchen] environments that were decent, where the human person was respected.
- Chef Gabriel Kreuther talks about his mentors Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Chef Danny Meyer.
Gabriel Kreuther's creative process
- The food served at the 2 Michelin star Gabriel Kreuther's restaurant is a blend of the Alsatian heritage and the modern aspects of other cultures.
- The Chef explains the story behind his willingness to have a relaxed atmosphere in his 2 Michelin star restaurant.
- Alsatian cooking is basically the rusticity and the wholeness of the German cooking mixed up with refinement and the finesse of the French cooking, Almost like a kind of fusion before anybody talked about fusion cooking.
- Creativity around the tradition Alsatian dish: “La Tarte Flambée”. The dish is based around three basic elements: “fromage blanc”, onion, and smoked bacon on bread dough. Chef Gabriel Kreuther innovated with hens of the woods mushrooms, duck confit, or smoked salmon.
- For Chef Gabriel Kreuther, the creative process has many starting points: product centric, influenced by the season, travels, or it can be a challenge.
- “You cannot have only technique and no flavor. It's meaningless.”
- His management style is about coaching, mentoring and inspiring.
- “You really have to love what you do in order to to bring the quality on the plate and in order to do what we do, if you don't have that genuine passion, that work is too hard for you.”
- The Chef mentions that he always used techniques that were either very old techniques or techniques that were forgotten.
- In the Fall of 2021, Chef Gabriel Kreuther will publish a book.
- 5 rapid-fire questions!
Links to other episodes in New York City
Chef Gabriel Kreuther recipe with scallops
“It depends of the quality of the scallops. But if it's really, really beautiful ones. Yeah, I will literally tend to eat them almost as a tartare or as a ceviche. So we'll just slice them in couple slices and season them with grape-seed oil, a little bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, chives, a few red peppers in there, a little bit of orange juice and something crunchy, I would put a little bit puffed wheat or something like that in there. Mix it. And that's a nice little appetizer.
I will have a little bit of green apple in it. Well, then just roast it. I will make them very simply with a couple of mushrooms. Just you can just deglaze with a little bit chicken stock or water or a little bit of white wine or lemon juice and a little bit olive oil. I will serve them literally with a nice lentil soup. But passed and not the whole lentils in it. And we'd be like a bed.”
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- Chef Gabriel Kreuther & flavorsunknown
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- Sturgeon & Sauerkraut Tart with Alsatian Heritage
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- 2 Michelin star Classic tarte flambée @ Alsatian cooking
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- Foie Gras Dish @ Gabriel Kreuther
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- Foie Gras Sesame Praline Chef Gabriel
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- Duck breast with Mole sauce @ fusion style
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- Squab Foie Gras Croustillant @ Gabriel Kreuther
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- Gabriel Kreuther Restaurant @ Bryant Park
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