Loiseau - The Perfectionist.

[Corinna Dunne]

At Bernard's funeral, Chelminski reports, he had an honor guard composed of all twenty-four of the country's three-star chefs. This is not merely a tribute to a friend, but a recognition that they constitute a very special club: a fraternity for those who have been hazed behind the ovens and been crowned.

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I think it also acknowledged the fact that he was a truly charismatic man and a “ground breaking” chef. The passages in the book describing the food can only achieve so much, because the reality is, when you are cooking food with such a tight focus on taste, the only way you can really understand and appreciate it is if you taste it. And in a way, because Loiseau couldn’t move on, you somehow get the sense from the book (certainly towards the end) that this food could have been staid. But when he started out, it was truly revolutionary against the backdrop of what was going on in other restaurants at the time.

I had dinner at Le Cote d’Or about 16 years ago in the beautiful old dining room when it was still a 2*. It was an inadvertent stop (I’d taken the wrong road), I had not heard of Loisseau and had no preconceptions at all about his food. As far as I can remember, I had his truffled chicken, but what I vividly remember is the taste of the vegetables. He was after essence, and he achieved it heroically. He was standing at the door as I left the room after my meal and I was caught unaware when he asked me what I thought. He looked at me with eyes that suck you up; there was a huge need to be loved in them, an intense passion and naive insecurity mixed in together. I looked at him and spluttered effusively that the vegetables really tasted like vegetables and I thought they were wonderful. It sounded inane at the time, but it was an honest response and his eyes filled up with delight. When I read the book, I was so amazed to realise that I probably couldn’t have said anything better.

Chelminski clearly has no time for what he describes as “cuisine tendance” but I think the point could be made that much of the avant garde cooking that is popular (or scorned) at the moment has its roots in Loiseau’s search for purity and taste, and in many ways he could be considered to be the father of it.

As for Tom Wolfe and The Painted Word… I think he argues his point against “theory” and painting more convincingly than Chelminski does in relation to food, and I think it’s unlikely we’ll ever see the culinary equivalent of a blank canvas, however much Chelminski would like to imply that we've reached this point already.

[tan319]

I've been reading the book and while I love it, the emphasis on the Bi Polar disorder aspects ( which unless furthur on down the book it is diagnosed is merely hypothosies. More then likely true but...) are such a big bummer.

If anyone ever thought this was the case, why didn't they ever get him help?

I also dislike the repeated slaps at the 'new cuisine' and it's chefs.

One gets the point the first 5 times or so.

An amazing read nonetheless!

[akwa]

i love this book and want to revisit the thread entree

i thought chelminski argues successfully that loiseau's fear of losing a third star was at least in part related to his suicide, being that it was the coveted reflection of his life's work. whether he lost a star, which he did not, was really not the issue in my opinion.

imho the writing was repetitive and filled with unfortunate metaphors, something about a truffled wonderbra still causes me onomatopoieac heart palpitations, but the story is so good that chelminski cant miss.

anyone who entertained the michelin bashing after its nyc release would be served by a realistic (though often awestruck) analysis like this

made me remember why i fell in love with loiseau style and have two copies of envolee from my time in france. deconstruction predating adria by a decade?

with regards to chelminski's personal taste, who cares; he obviously loves gagnaire and bras, he just understands loiseau. any "frenchman" can be forgiven for discussing nueva cuisine in only french terms and to expect a concession in that detail is unreasonable to expect

best analysis of why chefs are crazy that i have found so far

wg

[Bux]

. . . .

His bi-polar condition sounded pretty overwhelming, but it seems that it also contributed to his genius.  I particlularly liked the part where Chelminski talks about how the Cote d'Or staff found it nearly intolerable to work with Loisseau when he was on Prozac, behaving like a 'normal chef'!  . . . .

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I've been reading the book and while I love it, the emphasis on the Bi Polar disorder aspects ( which unless furthur on down the book it is diagnosed is merely hypothosies. More then likely true but...) are such a big bummer.

If anyone ever thought this was the case, why didn't they ever get him help?

. . . .

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It would appear that if he was taking Prozac, not exactly an over the counter drug, he had sought medical attention and was being treated. I don't think it's easy to get people to seek treatment for bipolar disorder and I suspect this was more than the author's hypothesis.

I haven't read Chelminski's book, but I suspect Echikson's Burgundy Stars would be an interesting book to those who found The Perfectionist compelling. It's about the year leading up to the third star. One might say that Echikson chose his subject wisely, or at least had the good luck of seeing his subject get a third star at a fortunate moment in terms of publication.

[tan319]

Prozac isn't a great first line treatment for BPD but it's easy to see a psyche prescribing it for someone suffering from depression.

I wish it was de riguer for a dr. to interview a patients familiar, ie: wife, best friend, etc., to get a fuller pic of a persons makeup.

He was always effusively up it seems, so the downs would have contrasted more, it would appear..

It's not easy for people to seek help for it because many times friends, etc., don't think anything is wrong with them.

If you were bringing in a lot of money, spending it wouldn't seem weird to most.

"Creative Genius", Incredible Drive", those go hand in hand.

Bursts of anger while seeking perfection?

Easily excused.

I recently read an article where a writer sent out a questionaire to 10 of the most successful entrepenuers, it was basically a test for BPD and EVERYONE of them tested high!

[Corinna Dunne]

I recently read an article where a writer sent out a questionaire to 10 of the most successful entrepenuers, it was basically a test for BPD and EVERYONE of them tested high!

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This is an interesting finding. I don’t know much about BPD, but as I read the book, I was struck by how much of what was described could also be attributed to a “type A” personality. I don’t mean to make light of the disorder in any way… it’s just, as mentioned upthread, we all know people out there with similar personality traits, and maybe even recognise a bit of ourselves too, if we’re honest. And perhaps, this is what makes the book so haunting.

[tan319]

Re:Type A personalities: It all kind of crosses over, doesn't it?

BPD affects about 2.3 million ( a bit over 1% over the population) people any given year.

Here's a link to an old but interesting article on the "creative genius" side of the disease, which Loiseau had in oddles, I suppose

.BPD & creative genius?

[JohnL]

In today's BBC Online:

Michelin guide pulled over gaffe

Michelin has removed one of its renowned gourmet guides from sale after it emerged it carried a top review for a restaurant that had not yet opened.

The Ostend Queen in Belgium had been awarded a "Bib Gourmand" even though it opened several weeks after publication of the Benelux Red Guide 2005.

I'm in the middle of reading a preview copy of "The Perfectionist" about Bernard Loisseau's suicide because of his losing a Michelin star. I continue to be astonished how much power this publication has.

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Amazing--I was reading this thread and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that "The great Chef's of The World" was on my TV (Discovery Channel)--there was Bernard Loisseau, preparing a dish from his restaurant.

It was a sole sauteed in goose fat and served with mashed potatoes and a vinagrette.

Loisseau was animated and engaging as he and a sous chef prepared the dish for the camera.

What was interesting is how they trimmed and fileted the cooked fish (crispy brown) off the bones while piping hot. This dish was incredibly simple yet-the use of goosefat and the artful filet technique rendered a dish that looked absolutely delicious.

The fish --a beautiful golden brown and the three scoops of potatoes with a bit of vinagrette drizzled on the plate left the kitchen with no further garnish.

It was for me-one of the most enticing preparations I have ever seen.

This guy was brilliant--I wish I could have experienced his food. A great loss.

[tan319]

Amazing--I was reading this thread and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that "The great Chef's of The World" was on my TV (Discovery Channel)--there was Bernard Loisseau, preparing a dish from his restaurant.

It was a sole sauteed in goose fat and served with mashed potatoes and a vinagrette.

Loisseau was animated and engaging as he and a sous chef prepared the dish for the camera.

What was interesting is how they trimmed and fileted the cooked fish (crispy brown) off the bones while piping hot. This dish was incredibly simple yet-the use of goosefat and the artful filet technique rendered a dish that looked absolutely delicious.

The fish --a beautiful golden brown and the three scoops of potatoes with a bit of vinagrette drizzled on the plate left the kitchen with no further garnish.

It was for me-one of the most enticing preparations I have ever seen.

This guy was brilliant--I wish I could have experienced his food. A great loss.

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Was this on todays great chefs of the world?

Would love to see it!

Thanks for the heads up.

[JohnL]

Amazing--I was reading this thread and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that "The great Chef's of The World" was on my TV (Discovery Channel)--there was Bernard Loisseau, preparing a dish from his restaurant.

It was a sole sauteed in goose fat and served with mashed potatoes and a vinagrette.

Loisseau was animated and engaging as he and a sous chef prepared the dish for the camera.

What was interesting is how they trimmed and fileted the cooked fish (crispy brown) off the bones while piping hot. This dish was incredibly simple yet-the use of goosefat and the artful filet technique rendered a dish that looked absolutely delicious.

The fish --a beautiful golden brown and the three scoops of potatoes with a bit of vinagrette drizzled on the plate left the kitchen with no further garnish.

It was for me-one of the most enticing preparations I have ever seen.

This guy was brilliant--I wish I could have experienced his food. A great loss.

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Was this on todays great chefs of the world?

Would love to see it!

Thanks for the heads up.

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It is actually on the "Discovery Home Channel"

I am in New York City (CH114 on Time Warner Cable).

I checked my guide and the show is being repeated at 2:30 PM and 5:30PM--Today!

[mrsadm]

Reviving this older thread to let folks know, this book is now available cheaply as a remainder. I got mine for $6.99 as an Amazon bargain book.

Am reading it now and find it fascinating.

[S_tran]

As a person relatively young to this industry, i have read this book and found inspiration in the life and death of Bernard Loiseau. His conquest to achieve perfection (although i do not believe there is such a thing) and and personality might have been his down fall. I personally have been around people with Bi polar disorder and have actually dated someone with this disorder. In Bernards case, his disorder was realtivley unknown during his time or not as well known so it was hard for people to accept or himself for that matter. He achieved great things on his highs and droppped even harder on his lows. Therefore the prospect of losing his third michelin star and also during a time when the culianry scene was changing dramatically from his traditional french cuisine contributed to his demise. It was funny to read the book describing his adolescence, always saying things he shouldn't be saying, getting into trouble just being full of life to watching him struggle to find himself and be known to the world.