Les Enfantes Terribles devient terriblement vieux

By JULIETTE ROSSANT The International Herald Tribune ran a story about the king of "les Enfantes Terribles" of Nouvelle Cuisine, Paul Bocuse. What a career! Among other awards and recognition, he is not only the first chef to receive the French Legion of Honor award but also the first chef to be made an Officer of the Legion of Honor. He has built up a brand name and empire: a luxury restaurant in Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or; five brasseries around Lyon, an elaborate banquet hall in an old abbey, a culinary school, and delicatessens in Japan; an American wine label; a French frozen-food line, and an ongoing deal at Disney World (Orlando); cookbooks, CDs, postcards, plateware, cookware, and an online shop. The article's author, Christopher Knight, discusses a concern which argues that empire-building celebrity chefs in France like Bocuse (he also singles out Alain Ducasse and Joël Robuchon) have hurt the profession of chef by becoming both entrepreneurs and celebrities. Yet, like all super chefs, he says, "I have a lot of ideas in my head," and, like many French and American colleagues, his initial entrepreneurship was spurred by Japanese investors. From his vantagepoint, Bocuse fears mostly that chefs lose fundamentals: "There are basic rules to follow in cooking, and now[adays] there are no basics." And he echoed a concern widely held by top American chefs that newcomers to the field have set their expectations too high (brought on, no doubt, by the new entrepreneurship and celebrity in the field which Bocuse himself pioneered) and so advises young chefs to do one thing: "Work, work, work." What Bocuse and his contemporaries were not talking about was age, or how much they work these days -- in light of the fact that Bocuse is nearly 80, and so are many others among Les Enfantes Terribles of Nouvelle Cuisine. I mean, let's get some perspective here: the film Les Enfants Terribles by Jean Cocteau (1889-1963), whose name was then applied to Bocuse and his gang, was released in 1949 -- 55 years ago. At one point, the work pace must respect the age of the chef, and the chef must face what to do with the empire he or she has created. So far, there seem to be only two answers from chefs: work to the grave, like Bocuse and Wolfgang Puck want to do (see Super Chef, pp. 47-48), or sell out to guarantee a comfortable retirement, like Joachim Splichal. It seems that chefs, like all other humans, must grapple with the simple truth that "you can't take it with you." Previous articles: After the Hurricane, Norman Van Aken Breezes Gently In Alain Ducasse: Hyper Chef -- Now Serving Mars Nick Valenti: Super Chef Master?