Lotte's Pierre Gagnaire chosen as world's best chef

By Kim Se-jeong

Lotte Hotel announced Wednesday that Pierre Gagnaire of its French restaurant Pierre Gagnaire a Seoul was named best chef in the world for January by Le Chef magazine.

The restaurant Pierre Gagnaire a Seoul is located on the 35th floor in the new wing of the hotel and is Gagnaire’s only restaurant in Korea. He runs restaurants in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia. According to the magazine, 512 chefs were reviewed for the recognition.

Pierre Gagnaire

Gagnaire was born in 1950 in Apinac, France. His first restaurant in Saint Etienne was closed in 1996 due to financial struggles. In 1997, he opened a new restaurant in Paris and this earned three Michelin stars in 1997. Michelin stars are the most credible recognition of a restaurant and its menu. His academic collaboration with French physical chemist Herve This helped him further explore new ingredients. His Korean colleagues at the hotel have also expressed reverence for his experimental mind.

Lotte Hotel’s collaboration with the star chef dates back to 2008. The hotel was near the completion of its renovation, including restaurants in the new wing, and management reached out to the chef to replace an old restaurant.

“It was when Gagnaire had his Tokyo restaurant closed. He was looking for a new place to open a restaurant in Asia,” a hotel representative said.

He is currently running restaurants in Tokyo and Hong Kong as well.

Gagnaire visits Seoul twice a year on an Asian trip, and stays for a week each time, presenting special gala dinners that, according to the representative, are booked months in advance.

Three chefs dispatched from his restaurant in France maintain daily operations at the restaurant. The hotel said they have strict guidelines to maintain the quality of the food and service by constantly communicating with Gagnaire.

The hotel said it is content with the collaboration ― sought to deepen its luxurious brand image ― with him so far.

Lotte spent almost 7 billion won to host Gagnaire, but declined to share details of the contract.

The chef will be in Seoul between March 19 and 24 and is presenting two gala dinners on March 20 and 24. Reservations are available for another dinner March 24. He will also present new dishes such as blue crab blanquette with scallops and herbs, veal abalone pate and black truffles, lobster with grilled avocado, cappuccino foam and sweet potato chips and Korean beef tenderloin porridge. For information and reservations, call (02) 317-7181.