Marco Pierre White

Finally Visits India

He says he feels blessed to have the opportunity to travel the world doing what he does best; cooking. Seven months of the year he is on the international road, as mentor to aspiring young chefs also satiating tastebuds of fans through pop-up dinners

Text : Farzana Contractor

It's strange, I did not notice a shred of arrogance, the attitude that is generously attributed to this legendary living chef of all times, Marco Pierre White. I was meeting him at St Regis in Bombay for a one-on-one, an honour bestowed upon me, courtesy the respect that UpperCrust commands or demands or simply gets, unasked. Most of the media had to do with a common press conference.

That apart, I was quite impressed that the one-dish cookery class that Marco had just finished demonstrating had got him a decent audience each of who had paid Rs10,000 to watch him cook; Wild Mushrooms Risotto... a Marco signature dish.

I was meeting him soon after the demo and the only sign of annoyance he portrayed was aimed at the room which was too packed to conduct an interview in. "Do you mind if we go to my suite and talk?" he enquired. No, not at all. A restricted number of us then trouped into the elevator with him and soon we were settled on elegant sofas, me asking my first question, even as the minutes allotted were ticking away.

Yes, it's his first trip to India and he is already in love with it. Technically that means Bombay. But he had an interesting explanation. The magic was in the air. Says he, "Even as I was leaving the airport in Mumbai, I took a deep breath and it was like breathing in the energy of the city. There was something special, something I liked, that I took to instantly."

Well, we are glad he did, for it only means his journeys to India have started. The allure of India brought him here, now its magic and energy will sustain in bringing him back again and again. So foodies, rejoice!

So what is the Marco Pierre White story? Known for being the youngest chef to be awarded three Michelin stars, Marco was just 33 years old in 1994 when he was awarded with this honour, with the first star awarded back in 1987. With this, he also became the first British chef to win a Michelin star, bringing the culinary arts to the fore in UK. But that was only the beginning of his story, of a 17-year-long career as a chef. Winning three Michelin stars is exciting, but managing them is the most boring job, he felt when he retired as a professional chef and went on to be a restaurateur. He has been a host and judge of several cooking shows on TV like Hell's Kitchen, MasterChef Australia and Kitchen Wars. He has also authored cookbooks White Heat and Wild Food from Land and Sea, and an autobiography White Slave. Known as the godfather of modern-day cooking, Marco is a legend of the culinary world who has been apprentice to renowned chefs including Gordon Ramsay, Curtis Stone and Shannon Bennett.

That said, let's pick up Marco's India thread. Let me begin with something positive taken out of something negative. For most of us returning from abroad, upon landing, the first smell of Bombay rather puts us off. We know what contributes towards the unclean smell but Marco 'opened my eyes' to another aspect. He did not notice anything amiss for he was most busy, sniffing away at other smells. An aroma of things roasting, smells of sweet spices invaded his olfactory senses. And he only concluded that a lot of cooking must have been going on everywhere! "Food, that's what I smelt in the air," says Marco. What a nice thought.

"Food plays an enormous part in peoples lives. And nowhere is it more apparent than in India. Whether you are rich or poor, in India food plays a very dominant role. I believe a large percentage of Indians can cook. And even if not actually cooking, everyone is exposed to food. Unlike in England, from where I come. To me, if you are exposed to food, you are exposed to happiness," says Marco, speaking softly, slowly and rather seriously.

Marco's mum was Italian and I wondered if he was genetically bestowed through her or influenced by her cooking which is why he is partial to Italian food. "To be honest, it's Mother Nature which has always inspired me, been my teacher. But yes, a boy's blueprint is created first by his mother, universally, in Spain, England, Italy, India, wherever. And your palate is set in your childhood, which is why people everywhere love their mother's cooking. I was no exception. But from age 7 - 13, it's the father who plays his role and from 14 - 21 it's the mentor."

Marco always advises young students to find the right mentors. Careers in correct hands, the right ones make all the difference, he emphasises. As for the Italian in him, vis-‡-vis, the English (his dad was English, Chef Frank White), he says Italians are like Indians; enthusiastic, expressive, loving, affectionate, English on the other hand "...are reserved. They don't express what they think a lot of times. They keep their thoughts to themselves. And they are not as enthusiastic about food, as say, Indians or Italians. As a child in England, food was merely meant to help you grow, give you energy..."

So I happily concluded Marco is more Italian than English and a few more visits to India will soon happily Indianise him too! "I am very glad that Kiran Soans of World on a Plate has brought you to Bombay as part of their culinary event, but did you ever plan on coming here, before now, I mean?" I asked Marco. "Well, let me put it this way. I have thought of India for many, many years. In 2011, when I was giving an interview and was asked which place in the world I really wanted to go to, I had replied, 'India'. So it's not in the last few months or last few years, it goes back many, many years that I have been wanting to come here."

So I ask the next obvious question, "And now that you are here, can we expect this trip to be a prelude to more frequent trips, longer, more meaningful ones, like travel the length and breath of the country, India can be a great educator, you know, food-wise?"

"I am sure of that. Not just food-wise, but in many aspects India would be a great educator. But I don't know. I don't think like that. I don't take life for granted. In the sense that, will I be here next month or next year. One never knows. One never knows anything. I never plan, life happens. I just go!”

I couldn't help but think, connect at that point, that Marco Pierre White has had to live his share of unhappiness in his life. His mother died tragically young and that must have had an impact on his way of thinking. "Yes, my dear mother was only 38 when she died. She went away too soon. And as a young man growing up without the comfort of his mother around, there were two things that drove me, one was my fear that I may die before I realised my dream and the second factor was fear of failure."

Marco's mother did leave him too early but not without handing down guidelines to him. "Each of us must have a guideline. And my greatest guide in my life when in a situation, I ask myself, 'what would my mother expect of me, what would my mother want me to do'?"

"We have to question ourselves. It's very easy in life to be unaware of or not recognise consequences of our actions. To be brutally honest, I have made more mistakes in my life than any man I have met. But there is nothing wrong in making mistakes. You must take the knowledge from that experience, good or bad because that makes us who we are," says Marco.

Would he consider himself to be spiritual? "It is not for me to say really whether or not I am spiritual, but I will tell you, once an Indian man, in England, looked at my palms and... refused to say anything. He just went mum." Extending his palm, Marco pointed to a little triangle, saying, "Look, I have a pyramid there, which I had never noticed or recognised or known what it represents, but it is there!" Indeed, there was this triangle sitting right on his deep, dark, line of intelligence. I was intrigued enough to make a mental note to pull out my ancient book of Chiero that I used to dive into frequently when in school...

I confessed to Marco that I did have some reservations while on my way to meet him. I had wondered just what kind of a guy was he, for the tag that stood out the most in my mind was that of an 'enfant terrible'. Marco's response - closing his eyes, a shrug and an upward raising of palms, all simultaneouslyñ said everything! But he expounded, "There must be something over and above and beyond the man that the world sees him. Firstly, my reputation is a product of exaggeration and ignorance. All those tags were established 35 years ago. Do they not think I could have changed and all of that in all these years? Yes, they are labels that the media sticks on you and they just stay!"

The way Marco looks at it is most boys are 'naughty' when they are young. In any case 20s are the most testing times, he says. And like with most people the worst period of his life. A time when young men evolve, when childhood confusions are being unravelled, when past experiences are being dealt with, insecurities being overcome... And now that he has hit the 60s...

"I feel blessed, truly blessed that I have so many opportunities to travel. I am on international work assignments six to seven months in a year. And I love it. The only problem is time. It's a pity there are only 52 weeks in each year!"

To a man who treats the many Michelin stars that he has received for his restaurants as stepping stones to where he has reached, life is slowly coming full circle.
To the question, what next, he repeats, "What next? What do I have next, I have my children, four of them. And all four are completely different individuals."

Have any of them taken up after his profession? "Well, one of them, perhaps. Or at least he likes being in the restaurant  industry." Not so much into cooking then? "Well, he spends just a bit in the kitchen, but then he is not like his father," say Marco in typical British humour now, adding, "he is way more intelligent. He is educated, where I wasn't!"
Marco goes on to inform that he wasn't academically intelligent but that he had an analytical mind which helped him to break down things. He says he never was good at school and being dyslexsic it didn't help any. So while he had no trouble reading, he did struggle to absorb things. But then again he has a very good visual memory, so when he sees something, it just gets stored and he just remembers it all.

"And therefore, I won't forget Mumbai. I came with no expectations because I wanted to see Mumbai through my own senses. Especially my sense of smell. And the Mumbai I have seen is beyond the obvious one. Its generosity of spirit is sweeter than spice."