Chef Gregoire Berger

Executive Chef

Ossiano at Atlantis, The Palm

He’s humble in spite of the 30+ awards under his toque as a chef who’s been there and done that. Now, heading the kitchen at Ossiano, Chef Gregoire regales you with his creativity and his journey across the world

The Celebrated Aqua Chef

Interviewed by LYLE MICHAEL

After a tour of The Lost Chambers at the seven-star Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai, we got a taste of what it would be like to dine in such an ambience, surrounded by finned wonders in all shapes and sizes. Yet, nothing really prepares you adequately for the multi-course wave at Ossiano. More still, for the impressive figure that runs the show at the award-winning seafood restaurant, very much like a standalone within the vast and stunning resort.

Chef Gregoire Berger is as much Ossiano as Ossiano is him. So, to experience a meal here is to experience the man himself, for he takes you on his life’s journey from his childhood home in Brittany to the South of France, on to Perigord and the Mediterranean rims, to the Pyrenees Mountains to finally arrive at Marseille. All on your table at Ossiano, with the creatures of the sea for company and your viewing pleasure! Chef Gregoire’s lifelong respect for seasonality and ingredients sourced through sustainable methods from the oceans, or 50 km from the coastline, the terroir and sea-foraging, show forth in the dishes he prepares and presents ingeniously. Take the Truffle Croque Monsieur served on a wall clock that takes you back in time. Or the Goat Milk Ice-Cream in an Olive Illusion. It’s art at Ossiano, a storytelling through Wanderlust, the new chapter that stems from a creative soul with multiple awards to his and Ossiano’s name. Among the top chefs in Dubai, that’s Greg, all of 34 at that!

Chef Gregoire smiles as he reminisces about his growing-up years in Brittany, the Western part of France, where the culinary traditions of his mum and grandmum took root in him eventually influencing him to be the Michelin-starred chef he is today. French chef Fernand Corfmat was also a big influence, a mentor among several others.

Chef Gregoire takes us back in time. ”On the night of my graduation, I had a bad accident, fell off a cliff and broke my ribs. I decided I wanted to move out of the place in order to grow. So, I moved to Spain, from there to the US, then to Morocco where I met my wife, Meriam (12 years ago) and opened my first restaurant, a fine-dine named Club 21, at the age of 21, inspired by Key West, from my time at Chef Paul Bocuse’s before Morocco. We then came back to France from there, to Paris, and realised it was not the right fit, so Asia was calling us next. And finally, Dubai!” It was either here or London and given that his wife is like a plant (from a southern region), he quips, who needs sunlight, Dubai was the winner. The first restaurant he worked in was Rain which closed operations after a while and fate dropped him straight into the arms of Atlantis, of Ossiano, in 2014. Working with the Executive Chef, Gilles Perrin was a learning experience for Chef Gregoire as he quickly adapted and mastered the ways of the ever-flowing Atlantis world.

“Ossiano was the right fit for me as I was very keen on photography and I used to take a lot of pictures of my food. It was very visually appealing here. In Paris, I learnt to be more creative and visually proficient. At Ossiano, we do not really change the menu as per the seasons or the produce but we introduce a new concept each time. We began with a la carte, and then a tasting menu. Next, in 2019, it was only one menu called Metamorphosis. It was a courageous move for Dubai.”

Then the dreaded COVID happened and the team had to adapt to the times and the needs of the diners, so they brought forth a tapas menu with 18 dishes. Chef Gregoire’s kitchen was a success! After all his culinary travails across the ‘ocean’, Chef needed a break and so he took one, making waves with headlines that read: ‘Chef Gregoire Berger departs Ossiano at Atlantis, The Palm’. This was January 2021. After a brief albeit

fruitful sabbatical, he was back at the place he nurtured, that nurtured him in return, as the Executive Chef with a fantastic team of around 45-50 people who are like his children. 

Chef Gregoire credits the time off to go back home and spend much needed quality moments with his two little angels, Jade and Luna. No pets, we enquire. None, he says, they’re a big responsibility. He used to have a python at one point in time. Interesting choice, we make note. But that’s Chef Gregoire: an out-of-the-tank individual with a powerful mind and a personality that commands the room. “I’m not a chef,” he states emphatically but a creator, with no boundaries. Food is my expression!” It sure is, as we are witness to his culinary wonder, adapting every ingredient from our seafood menu to suit our vegetarian company beautifully so.

Perhaps Bombay will have a taste of Ossiano if the Chef makes good on his word to visit. “For sure, I do want to come down there soon. I love Indian food. Pani puri, please.”