Guillaume Comparat at the Domus, in Peking. Guillaume Comparat already traveled for cooking when he was a child. “I come from a family of good eaters. I remember driving for miles with my father to find good products: good rosé in Provence, the right cheese etc…”, explains this young 29 year old chef. A few years later, nothing has changed. After spending a year in Shanghai, Guillaume Comparat moved to Peking. “I opened the restaurant at the JW Marriott, and in November 2008, I got a call from the owners of the Domus. It had already been open for two months”, he explains. This tall brown-haired native of Lyon, learned about French gastronomy at the Institut Paul Bocuse. “At the age of 17, I went to Hong-Kong and I wanted to return to Asia. I was working in Lyon then and a friend advised me to leave. That’s what I did!” he says.

His trips in Europe and North Africa forged his culinary influences. “An aroma, a spice, a food, a flower suffices. It brings back memories and you can realize awesome creations like that,” explains Guillaume Comparat. The Chinese spice that he prefers? The Sichuan red pepper. But he immediately adds: “for condiments, I love fresh coriander and you can find it everywhere in China. Without mentioning old rice vinegar, darker and grayer wine vinegar”. He says he finds more and more quality products in Chine, thanks notably to small farms growing produce organically. Being in China is a great lesson about life for the young chef, especially in terms of management and conflict resolution. “Chinese workers are very eager; they want to understand new things and working here is very enjoyable. Cooks here are less arrogant than in France where they imagine that they know everything.” In the kitchen, English dominates. “For the basic ingredients, Chinese workers know them in English and I know them in Chinese. We understand each other”, he calmly affirms. As for his level in Chinese, “I can ask for a glass of water, haggle on the markets and give instructions to a taxi driver... well, I mean the basics in Chinese!”, he says as he bursts out laughing. The cuisine he prepares in this new restaurant located in an old grain bin of the Forbidden City is a mix of what he has eaten and experienced since his childhood. In his kitchens, he wants to mix aromas adding an Asian touch: Indian, Thai, Chinese, Japanese... to French specialties. “But I don’t want to fall into excess”, he specifies. “For example, in France, I would have made a foie gras, with 4 spices. Here, I’ll add more cinnamon, more star anise and use a lot less nutmeg. Immediately the taste is different.” According to Guillaume, to become known in China, having gone through a prestigious culinary school in France is not the sole determining factor. “Everything works by word of mouth. People come, appreciate it and speak about it with others.” Guillaume Comparat admits it: “my big chance is that with cooking, you make friends the world over. A Chinese friend has already invited him to eat at his place and his grandmother made a dish whose recipe came from her own grandmother. It’s extraordinary. Sometimes it is very good, sometimes it is bad. But you always learn something.” Later, why not continue traveling in Asia... “India, or why not Thailand? And if other projects turn up in China, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

Emma Honoré
Article from 12 June 2009 extract from the site (China today) Aujourd'hui la Chine