Bernard Guillas

How important is it to be connected to your local farms? Oh boy, I look at my local farms as the heart and soul of my cooking. Without the farmers and fisherman you do not have a restaurant, which is why it is very important to be part of the community and really support the farming community. The farmers work very, very hard to give this amazing product. It might not look that sexy, but when you cut that lemon open and squeeze it’s juice, the fragrance is amazing and the flavor that pours out of that citrus is beautiful.
In San Diego there are 45 farmers markets per month. I always say that if you shop the farmers market, it may be a little more expensive but you will eat what you purchase as opposed to the larger market. Is it really good for you? Organic and natural? Most of the (larger market) stuff is not, so if you can eat well and support your local community, it will feed your soul as well, and you will be healthy. It is also a perfect platform to take the kids. They can taste the strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, then, what happens next, is they connect to the source of great taste.

Do you take risks in your cooking? I take only calculated risks. It means you have to make sure your dishes, your preparations, have to be well balanced. You know, sometimes we think the more ingredients we put on the plate the better it’s going to be, but you know… fusion cuisine can become confusion cuisine, so you have to calculate your risk and make sure it is very well executed.

When did food capture you? I was captured by food right after I was captured by my grandmother. My grandmother is the root of my madness. I mean, I was born on an island smaller than Jersey (the Channel Island) between France and England. I was shipped by my parents to my grandma when I was a year old, then for 7 years I saw how cooking and the table and gathering was a part of life. We would cook only what was in season, we would go into the garden and harvest what was available. At that point, even as a little child, I would always be cooking with grandma.
The best thing I loved to do was cooking crepes. I had an uncle that was a baker, an uncle that was a butcher, no candlestick makers, I swear theres none of those [laughing] and the rest of my family were farmers and fisherman. So it was really easy for me me to get into the field. I did an apprenticeship and realized this was natural to me. This became my career and I love every single minute of it. I would not change a single thing, not one single thing, it has been a great journey.

When did you discover that food had power? When I was an apprentice because you could tell food was having such an impact on the guests. The way you prepare your food, the way you present the food, it becomes an experience. When you come to the Marine Room for example, we create a new journey, a new expectation. You create some new traditions, people want to come back to the Marine Room. Our food is designed, our food is fun and in season. It’s not only my food, it’s me and Chef Ron Oliver, my chef de cuisine, we are in partnership when it comes to the creativity.

What does it take to run a kitchen? Compassion, understanding, and patience. To be a really good communicator and lead by example. The most important thing to remember is to understand that this is not about individuals, it is a team, a culinary team. It means that when you come in the morning you are part of the staff, that’s what it is all about and it’s a lot of fun, I tell you. I have three kitchens with 55 cooks in my kitchen, so I have 55 children [laughing]. They are all very different and they all need my help somehow and it’s great. They help me out as well. I travel the world because I have such a good culinary team.

Where do you get your inspiration for your incredible sauces & oils? Travels. I have been very lucky to have traveled to 50 different countries. I just came back from South Korea. If you really want to discover and get an idea of the culture, a soon as you land, you check your bags and ask for the nearest farmers market. The market is really the heartbeat of the whole country. This is where you will find what is available when it comes to ingredients and spices. You are able to observe the behavior of the locals in their own environment. A lot of shopkeepers want you to taste and sample their product, they are very proud of it. There is pride in food.

How do you see the future of cooking? I think the future of cooking is very exciting because you have so many new technologies coming into play, and chefs are really experimenting with new ingredients, and at the same time you will see comfort food. People love simple, easy and very tasty food.
Modern is great and will always be there and the fusion, sometimes confusion, is going to disappear and I think that you will see more blending, but not fusing of cuisine. For example, French and Vietnamese make a perfect synergy to be together. I think you will see a lot of Thai, Chinese, and Indian. Middle Eastern food is going to come up big time, Pakistani food is wonderful, Afghan food, Iran has beautiful food. The best saffron in the world is coming from Iran, I believe, plus they are wonderful people.

What is involved in becoming an executive chef? You don’t only have to be a great cook, you have be a great businessman. To become and be a great chef you have to know all about marketing, understand budgets and financials. You have to embrace everything and it takes a lot of hours. At 8 a.m. I’m at work and 10 p.m. I go home, sometimes I don’t go home. Sometimes you have to see your friends and party a little bit, you know. It’s wonderful and it’s something that I cherish.
Don’t get me wrong, there are challenges and when there are challenges, it makes me better. If there is an issue with a dish, I am going to re-create that dish with my team and make it even better, sometimes a hundred times better. You know when you make your best recipes? Usually when you make a mistake, so you let your creativity juices flow and at the end of the day you say ‘wow’ you just created a masterpiece!

Do you consider your plates equal to an artist’s canvas? Lets put it this way, an artist uses a canvas to paint, right? I use a white China plate. The artist uses paint, I use fruit and vegetables with as many textures as my natural palette. The artist will finish his beautiful painting and hang it on the wall, my plate will go to your table and become editable art. What’s really cool about it is you will really savor that plate for a coupe of minutes before eating it. Sometimes we have to tell the customers ‘take a bite, it’s getting cold!’ A beautiful plate is not the only thing to consider, you have to make sure the taste is as good as the presentation, which means that dish has to be fantastic!