Meet Marco Pierre White, The Original “Bad Boy” Of Cooking

File photo of Marco Pierre White, chef. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg News

Few would decline a rendezvous with the original “bad boy” of cooking. When I got the opportunity to meet the renowned Chef Marco Pierre White, I jumped at it.

White is known to most Indians as the star of multiple television shows, including Masterchef Australia, in which he strikes terror among contestants with his perfectionism.

And perfectionist he is in person, too. In Mumbai, as the judge of the fourth edition of the TV show World On A Plate, White was plating up his signature dish, the wild mushroom risotto, when I hoped to interview him.

But White had one look at the risotto, deciding it wasn't even good to serve as a prop in a television shoot. One hour later, the much-celebrated chef with three Michelin stars was ready to talk at a different place.

There was no attempt to plug the event for which he is in Mumbai and his most passionate answers were reserved for his belief in maintaining the highest standards when preparing his iconic dishes.

When they say molecular, it's just a label they gave it. A soufflé is a soufflé. A terrine foie gras is a terrine foie gras. Just because you want to poach chicken at a certain temperature in a water bath? Where's the flavour? That's what these so-called molecular chefs' do: put meat in a plastic bag, cook it at “x” temperature, depending on the meat, bring it out of the bag and then serve it. Where is the flavour? Where is the caramelisation? Let's cook by numbers. We might as well be a bingo caller.

Marco Pierre White