At 6, when most children dreamt of chasing butterflies or eating chocolate desserts for breakfast, Chef Bruno dreamt of becoming a three-Michelin star chef. Born to a family deeply involved in the hospitality industry, cooking was a passion for him from the very beginning. “With my entire family in the hospitality industry, starting from my grandfather, who was a pastry chef, we are talking of over 100 years in the business -- it’s akin to having a legacy. One that I chose to follow, purely out of love and passion,” he says with a glimmer of pride in his eyes.
Even as a toddler, Bruno showed a profound interest in food, often watching his father and grandfather bustling around in the kitchen, whipping up a variety of delicacies. He would toddle around the kitchen tasting every dish. Curiosity, one of the prized qualities of a chef, Bruno had in plenty. And there was no better place than his family kitchen to nurture and hone it. He would spend hours tasting various ingredients and trying to understand the whole spectrum of different flavors and tastes. His family was very encouraging and supportive of his inclination towards cooking; at the age of 6, they presented Bruno with his first Chef’s jacket. An incident whose memory he cherishes even today and holds very dear to his heart. “Thinking of the day I got my first chef’s jacket still gives me goosebumps. I also remember my father teaching me to roll up my sleeves as a proper chef.”
Bruno’s training ground was his family kitchen. Here, he learned to peel and chop onions, make stocks, and the mother sauces. The comprehensive development of his skills coupled with his innate talent helped him achieve a solid foundation that enabled him to quickly climb the kitchen hierarchy. At the age of 28, he earned the distinction of becoming the youngest chef in France with 17/20 and three "toques" in the Gault Millau Guide. It was Bruno’s magical mix of curiosity, perseverance, diligence, and flawless palate that led him to achieve tremendous success.
Among his foremost career achievements are: In 2002, under his leadership, ''The Dining Room” at the Ritz Carlton Buckhead in Atlanta, Georgia (USA) was conferred 5 stars by the Mobil Travel Guide and 5 diamonds by the AAA (American Automobile Association). Later in 2008, with Bruno at the helm, “L’Osier” in Tokyo (Japan) received 3 stars from the Michelin Guide. This acknowledgment made it one of the nine restaurants in Tokyo to be awarded the highest recognition of 3 stars at the launch of the first edition of Michelin Guide Tokyo.
In 2013, Bruno embarked on another culinary adventure by opening his consulting company in Singapore, Bruno Menard Pte. Ltd, where he consults and works with a range of world-class brands.
Sharpening his ever-curious mind and palate, he has also been a part of television programs such as MasterChef Asia. More recently, Philippe Briand, the mayor of the city of Saint Cyr Sur Loire, France, named a street of the new area of the city under his name. Despite all these accolades, Bruno remains humble. He says, “For me, the greatest reward is cooking and being able to work with fantastic ingredients and turn them into flavorful dishes that will create a memorable experience for the people and they keep coming back for more. At the end of the day, the smile of the customer is my ultimate reward and that is what I strive for every time I cook.”
Whether it is worth it going to a culinary school or not is a long-debated question, but Bruno is undisputed in his opinion. He believes that going to a culinary school can help aspiring chefs build a strong foundation as they learn that there is a military-like precision to every kitchen, starting from the order of titles, the rigid set of rules, regulations, and instructions, one has to follow. He even cites how his early exposure to culinary skills helped him to advance in his career. “I had a basic foundation in place, where I knew how to make a stock or sauces; it helped me in advancing my skills. That is why I keep emphasizing having a good culinary education. Ï appreciate what culinary schools like ICCA offer. Having ability is one thing, but you need training, and you need to develop your skills and understand the philosophy behind cooking which you can only learn at a culinary school.”
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We are always in the quest of that elusive recipe for success, but not Chef Bruno. Success is not a formula to him, and neither is cooking. For Bruno, cooking is an emotion; it’s a form of communication – a universal language in the kitchen that brings people together no matter where they’re from and what language they speak. And he believes that often people who enjoy cooking also enjoy eating as these are all emotionally interconnected.
Elaborating on the three Michelin stars that he received for ‘L’Osier’ in Tokyo (Japan), he says, “I could not have done it alone. You need the expertise of everyone, their precision and their skills to create a memorable experience for the senses. And I was fortunate that I had the support of an amazing team that I put together. Yes, I did bring my taste and technique to it but it is fruitless without a talented team, and that also includes the dishwasher!” Chef Bruno adds with his trademark sense of humor.
Having a strong palate is essential to becoming a good chef but it is far from being enough to become an excellent chef. Bruno believes that to chase excellence, a chef has to be extremely passionate about cooking and food, extremely curious about produce and ingredients as well as constantly practice and push their boundaries.
“This whole instant gratification mode that we are in today due to social media and various entertainment platforms can be very distracting. Every aspiring chef wants to be famous and to be seen in reality shows. Yes, it can be an exciting opportunity but the focus must always be on cooking. You must be a chef first and an entertainer later. And to do that you need to practice, constantly practice.”
Bruno also shares that a chef should aspire towards honing the skill and versatility to work with a variety of ingredients, fresh produce and equipment. They should keep training, working with various techniques and testing different flavors.
Curiosity is another quality that he feels aspiring chefs should nurture. Instead of being glued to photos of local produce on one’s mobile, he urges the young culinarians to visit a local market, hold the product in their hands, observe how it looks, smells and tastes and be inspired. “Think of all the flavors and let your palate and knowledge of all those flavors decide the recipe for your dish.”
At 6, when most children dreamt of chasing butterflies or eating chocolate desserts for breakfast, Chef Bruno dreamt of becoming a three-Michelin star chef. Born to a family deeply involved in the hospitality industry, cooking was a passion for him from the very beginning. “With my entire family in the hospitality industry, starting from my grandfather, who was a pastry chef, we are talking of over 100 years in the business -- it’s akin to having a legacy. One that I chose to follow, purely out of love and passion,” he says with a glimmer of pride in his eyes.
Even as a toddler, Bruno showed a profound interest in food, often watching his father and grandfather bustling around in the kitchen, whipping up a variety of delicacies. He would toddle around the kitchen tasting every dish. Curiosity, one of the prized qualities of a chef, Bruno had in plenty. And there was no better place than his family kitchen to nurture and hone it. He would spend hours tasting various ingredients and trying to understand the whole spectrum of different flavors and tastes. His family was very encouraging and supportive of his inclination towards cooking; at the age of 6, they presented Bruno with his first Chef’s jacket. An incident whose memory he cherishes even today and holds very dear to his heart. “Thinking of the day I got my first chef’s jacket still gives me goosebumps. I also remember my father teaching me to roll up my sleeves as a proper chef.”
Bruno’s training ground was his family kitchen. Here, he learned to peel and chop onions, make stocks, and the mother sauces. The comprehensive development of his skills coupled with his innate talent helped him achieve a solid foundation that enabled him to quickly climb the kitchen hierarchy. At the age of 28, he earned the distinction of becoming the youngest chef in France with 17/20 and three "toques" in the Gault Millau Guide. It was Bruno’s magical mix of curiosity, perseverance, diligence, and flawless palate that led him to achieve tremendous success.
Among his foremost career achievements are: In 2002, under his leadership, ''The Dining Room” at the Ritz Carlton Buckhead in Atlanta, Georgia (USA) was conferred 5 stars by the Mobil Travel Guide and 5 diamonds by the AAA (American Automobile Association). Later in 2008, with Bruno at the helm, “L’Osier” in Tokyo (Japan) received 3 stars from the Michelin Guide. This acknowledgment made it one of the nine restaurants in Tokyo to be awarded the highest recognition of 3 stars at the launch of the first edition of Michelin Guide Tokyo.
In 2013, Bruno embarked on another culinary adventure by opening his consulting company in Singapore, Bruno Menard Pte. Ltd, where he consults and works with a range of world-class brands.
Sharpening his ever-curious mind and palate, he has also been a part of television programs such as MasterChef Asia. More recently, Philippe Briand, the mayor of the city of Saint Cyr Sur Loire, France, named a street of the new area of the city under his name. Despite all these accolades, Bruno remains humble. He says, “For me, the greatest reward is cooking and being able to work with fantastic ingredients and turn them into flavorful dishes that will create a memorable experience for the people and they keep coming back for more. At the end of the day, the smile of the customer is my ultimate reward and that is what I strive for every time I cook.”
Whether it is worth it going to a culinary school or not is a long-debated question, but Bruno is undisputed in his opinion. He believes that going to a culinary school can help aspiring chefs build a strong foundation as they learn that there is a military-like precision to every kitchen, starting from the order of titles, the rigid set of rules, regulations, and instructions, one has to follow. He even cites how his early exposure to culinary skills helped him to advance in his career. “I had a basic foundation in place, where I knew how to make a stock or sauces; it helped me in advancing my skills. That is why I keep emphasizing having a good culinary education. Ï appreciate what culinary schools like ICCA offer. Having ability is one thing, but you need training, and you need to develop your skills and understand the philosophy behind cooking which you can only learn at a culinary school.”
We are always in the quest of that elusive recipe for success, but not Chef Bruno. Success is not a formula to him, and neither is cooking. For Bruno, cooking is an emotion; it’s a form of communication – a universal language in the kitchen that brings people together no matter where they’re from and what language they speak. And he believes that often people who enjoy cooking also enjoy eating as these are all emotionally interconnected.
Elaborating on the three Michelin stars that he received for ‘L’Osier’ in Tokyo (Japan), he says, “I could not have done it alone. You need the expertise of everyone, their precision and their skills to create a memorable experience for the senses. And I was fortunate that I had the support of an amazing team that I put together. Yes, I did bring my taste and technique to it but it is fruitless without a talented team, and that also includes the dishwasher!” Chef Bruno adds with his trademark sense of humor.
Having a strong palate is essential to becoming a good chef but it is far from being enough to become an excellent chef. Bruno believes that to chase excellence, a chef has to be extremely passionate about cooking and food, extremely curious about produce and ingredients as well as constantly practice and push their boundaries.
“This whole instant gratification mode that we are in today due to social media and various entertainment platforms can be very distracting. Every aspiring chef wants to be famous and to be seen in reality shows. Yes, it can be an exciting opportunity but the focus must always be on cooking. You must be a chef first and an entertainer later. And to do that you need to practice, constantly practice.”
Bruno also shares that a chef should aspire towards honing the skill and versatility to work with a variety of ingredients, fresh produce and equipment. They should keep training, working with various techniques and testing different flavors.
Curiosity is another quality that he feels aspiring chefs should nurture. Instead of being glued to photos of local produce on one’s mobile, he urges the young culinarians to visit a local market, hold the product in their hands, observe how it looks, smells and tastes and be inspired. “Think of all the flavors and let your palate and knowledge of all those flavors decide the recipe for your dish.”
