Foie gras delicacies at the Ritz-Carlton, Seoul

Roland Debuyst, Michelin one-starred chef from Belgium, shows a dish of roasted foie gras and a soup of candied duck leg at The Garden, the restaurant at The Ritz-Carlton, Seoul. / Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton, Seoul

By Kim Rahn

French cuisine is complicated because each dish contains a story and indications of the chef’s thinking, said Roland Debuyst, a French cuisine master.

The Michelin one-star chef from Belgium, who visited Korea last week for a foie gras promotion at The Ritz-Carlton, Seoul, said French cuisine is hugely diverse because chefs mix many ingredients together to create individual stories.

“In the dish, we try to explain what we feel, what our vision is. The customers think with me when I make a dish. It’s not just a dish of meat, fish, sauce and vegetable, but it’s a link between meat and vegetables,” Debuyst said.

Among many ingredients used in French cuisine, the 47-year-old chose foie gras for a promotion that will be held at the hotel’s European restaurant, The Garden, through Dec. 15. He is a consultant to Rougie, a provider of foie gras and duck products.

Some of his dishes for the occasion include foie gras tiramisu, foie gras terrine, foie gras garnished with truffles, roasted foie gras, caramelized duck breast with morel sauce, lobster ravioli, and three desserts using ice cream and chocolate. They are available both a la carte and as six-or seven-course meals.

“I mix all ingredients and try to make what people think is impossible, proving it’s possible. For a starter, I’m making a tiramisu of foie gras but in a new style. When people first look at it, it’s tiramisu, but when they eat it, it’s a new French cuisine,” he said.

The chef with 30 years of experience has three restaurants in Belgium. His first restaurant, named l’Orangeraie, opened in 1993, which gained a Michelin star in 2002. But he changed the concept in 2005, renaming it Brasserie Orange.

“People think Michelin starred restaurants are really expensive, so automatically we had a small number of customers, a small part of the market. I decided to have a bigger part of the market, so I opened a brasserie,” he said.

The difference was the price: instead of using expensive ingredients, the brasseries use lower-priced ones that are still of good quality.

He also opened Brasserie Mariadal, and the two restaurants were put on the list of Michelin Bib Gourmand, a list of restaurants offering good-quality food at reasonable prices.

The promotion is held thorough Dec. 15. The course meals are priced between 90,000 and 120,000 won. For more information, call (02) 3451-8271.