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Jean-Georges Unveils Star Goals, New Menu & Wet Market Finds

Anabela ShanghaiWOWeng 2018-11-27


Jean-Georges made culinary history with a reputation as remarkable as his food by tapping into his deep understanding of the restaurant world and pairing it with his forward-thinking vision. Today, Jean-Georges is regarded as an incredibly renowned chef; he is the author of several cookbooks and has appeared on numerous TV programs. For anyone unfamiliar with his style of cooking, Jean-Georges combines French cuisine with his passion for Asian flavors, and emphasizes using vegetable and fruit juices instead of the heavy meat stocks and creams of traditional cooking.


We recently sat down with internationally acclaimed chef Jean-Georges to discuss his upcoming Autumn menu, but that's not all we wanted to find out. We were curious to uncover his grand plans for 2019, learn the secrets to his success and his true thoughts about the Michelin Star. Plus, his views on Shanghai's hot topics such as sustainability, veganism, zero waste, his favorite wet market finds and his love for Sichuan peppers.



This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 


How do you feel about securing another 1 Michelin Star for the second consecutive year?  


It is good. On the one hand it’s just one guide, but it is important. On the other hand, it’s more important to please everyone. Sometimes people ask why this restaurant closed or that restaurant closed. At the end of the day, you have to please people and make sure they come back. Otherwise, you have an empty restaurant, and it doesn’t matter how many stars or accolades you have. If the food is not good, you don’t exist anymore. We have been here for 14 years now, way before Michelin, way before black pearl and everything for me, everything is important.



So do you have plans for getting more stars next year?


It is what it is. It isn’t up to us, but we will try our best. We have the wonderful chef Nikolai and our team is together - some have been here for 14 years already, so we have a great team behind us. And if it allows us to go to the next level, then we go to the next level. We will try to push, and that is our next goal.


What is the main emphasis of the menu you are highlighting? Is there a theme?


It is the Autumn / Winter menu, so it is all about mushroom, pumpkin, chestnuts, cabbage, parsnips, and beets - so mostly fall flavors. There is not a season for beef or chicken, so this season we can play with herbs, vegetables and plants; beautiful mushrooms, different types of squash, pumpkins and chestnuts. Our mushrooms are mainly from Yunnan province, such as the shitake and cinnamon caps that we use.


Kingfish sashimi, sherry vinaigrette and toasted pecans, RMB 138


Seared sea scallops, silken parsnip, passion fruit, brown butter, RMB 288


Peppercorn crusted wagyu beef tenderloin, potato gnocchi, brussel sprouts and sage, RMB 488


Are there a lot of similarities or differences between New York and Shanghai in terms of dining trends and preferences?


I think it is a bit similar. It's funny, when I came here 14 years ago I noticed how Chinese food had a lot of vegetables in the diet. Now, I feel that New York wants to eat more vegetables. When you eat any Chinese meal, there is a lot of grains, rice and vegetables and it is a nice balance. 15-20 years ago, New York had very little in terms of vegetable offerings, but I feel that they are balancing the diet a little better now. There seems to be an Asian influence to eating more vegetables, to eating healthier, with less butter, less cream and less of the fatty substances - it's all more balanced.


Veganism: it's all over the world now and there is a strong voice for veganism in Shanghai. Do you ever think your restaurant here will have vegan-friendly options?



We already do, but we will probably have more as we go along. We opened a vegan restaurant in New York 1.5 years ago. At first, we wanted to do a vegetarian restaurant (ABCV), but it became over 95% vegan because of the demand from people. A lot of vegan food tries to mimic meat and when we opened the vegetarian restaurant, I said that we would never put a vegetarian burger on the menu because if you eat vegetables, you eat vegetables - you shouldn't have the look of a burger, meatloaf or steak. So, we don't mimic any meat, instead we focus on flavor and nutritional value. We only use vegetables, herbs and serve plant-based dishes. Even for breakfast, we do Dosa. It's really popular and we are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.


Will you bring it here?


We plan to do a vegetarian section for Jean-Georges here.


But vegetarian and vegan are two very different things.


Yes, it is very different. But it will be mostly vegan. Are you vegan?


Me? I tried for a month and failed. Many of my friends are vegan though and I respect them for their dedication.


It’s not difficult. I probably eat vegan twice a week. One breakfast, one lunch, one dinner at different times. And also whenever I go to ABCV.


So, another community movement that is gaining a lot of traction is Zero Waste. What is your restaurant here doing to create a zero-waste environment?


To have a completely zero waste restaurant is impossible for now because we don’t have a machine to process the things. I feel that it is easier in New York. For example in the kitchen, there is compost. So we compost a lot of waste from the kitchen and the waste from the customers, and the farmer will come back to pick it up every day. Although we are not doing it here right now, but we are working on it.


We did our research and know you have a penchant for traveling. What do you do to get to know a country?



When I am in a new country, the first thing I do is drop off my suitcase and go to the market. It's there that you learn what people eat, how they live, what the customs are and what is local, fresh, seasonal. That is important to me.


So you have been to a wet market in Shanghai.


It is crazy. Every time I go I have to wear boots, there is water everywhere! Everything is moving, everything is alive!


What is your favorite wet market item?


I think I just posted it. It’s the Garoupa (*shows a photo on Instagram*). It looks big here, but it isn’t that big. I think what I learned most in China is freshness. Because sometimes you give a fish to somebody, they will already know it is three days old even if it has been sat on ice. The first time I cooked here in China, I served a fish that was sat for three days in ice, and my Chinese customer told me it wasn’t fresh.



Is there a traditional Chinese dish you want to bring back to other restaurants overseas?


I would love to know how to fold the dumplings - the xiaolongbao. I tried, it's very complicated. I made some dumplings before, homemade dumplings with soup in the middle like the xiaolongbao but not as meticulous as here.


Shanghai likes to use a lot of chili oil, so I brought back the chili oil to New York to use on some of my tuna tartar or to use when cooking a piece of fish. Ginger too, it's one of my favorite ingredients and it's good for you. 


So, things like that, mainly spices. My favorite pepper is Sichuan; it makes you numb for a couple of seconds and I love hot pot with Sichuan pepper. 14 years ago, it was not possible to bring Sichuan pepper to the US, so I may or may not have taken a little as a souvenir in my suitcase after each trip!


What are your plans for 2019? Are there any new themes or new restaurants?


This year, we have a couple of new restaurants opening up - one in New York and one in Philadelphia. I am looking at different opportunities and one of the projects I am very passionate about is the Fulton fish market. They moved the market to the Bronx and we are renewing the entire market. We will recreate the old building (the Tin Building) and bring back the New York landmark.


It will be a small market, mostly a little restaurant with an oyster bar, but it will keep the same feel. A little like Eataly but with seafood and will open in a couple of years. The building itself is over 110 years old, so we need to rebuild the whole thing. New York started there in the South Street Seaport, that is where all the boats arrived with fresh fish. So we'll be bringing back that history and it will also bring back a little nostalgia.





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