World-acclaimed chef Alain Ducasse recently announced that he will open two new restaurants and a bar in May at the upcoming Morpheus Hotel at City of Dreams resort, in Macau, according to China Daily today.
An entire floor will be dedicated to the project, and City of Dreams will become the first resort in Asia to have two Ducasse restaurants and a bar.
“Projects of such a broad scope and high ambition are not that numerous in the world today. It is a great honor for me to be part of it,” says Ducasse.
“I always create and never duplicate – each of my venues is different and reflects the mood of its location.”
“We shared the same passion to make dining more innovative …This place will be the thing of dreams. It’ll become an icon of the new Macao,” says Lawrence Ho, chairman and CEO of Melco Resorts and Entertainments Ltd, which owns City of Dreams.
“My two restaurants in Macau are distinguished, and they resonate with the location and the people. Guests will feel like they’re dining in France. It’s a combination of many factors, especially the cutting-edge inner design and the artistic architecture of Morpheus Hotel,” says Ducasse, 61.
For the Macau project, Alain Ducasse at Morpheus will serve contemporary French haute cuisine – his signature dishes from Paris and Monaco. And its design will pay tribute to traditional Chinese gardens.
“It’s of the same level as my restaurants in Paris and Monaco, offering authentic French food and a comfortable dining environment,” he says.
According to him, the new restaurant will follow the rule of his current focus on cooking – to reduce the amount of salt, sugar, fat and animal protein and use more fish and seafood.
“With less of such ingredients, you need to have expertise so as to maintain the quality of dishes and rethink how to protect the resources on earth,” he says.
Voyages by Alain Ducasse is customized for City of Dreams, with Asian cuisine inspired by his culinary travels over the past three decades. Its decor features solid wood, stone and lacquer, with inspiration from traditional Chinese elements.
While Ducasse admits there are no Chinese dishes in the Voyages restaurant, he says he likes Cantonese cuisine.
Speaking about the Macau food scene, Ducasse who has been there several times says he finds that the competition there is heating up.
“So, the uniqueness of the menu and design help you stand out in the market,” he says.
Called the “godfather” of French cuisine, Ducasse has a total of 21 Michelin stars spanning his 26 restaurants in France, Monaco, the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan.
In early 2017, the legendary chef opened the French seafood restaurant Rech by Alain Ducasse at the InterContinental Hong Kong, his first restaurant in China.
It was his 25th restaurant, and also the first outpost of the Rech restaurant outside France.
Meanwhile, in The Michelin Guide Hong Kong Macao 2018, there are a total of 227 restaurants in Hong Kong and 65 in Macao.
As for establishments with three stars in the guide, there are six in Hong Kong and two in Macau
.
All the restaurants with three stars have retained their positions from the previous edition.
Commenting on the guide, Ducasse says he’s glad to see more Chinese restaurants gaining Michelin stars.
Also, it’s good news that more French chefs are opening restaurants in China, especially in places such as Shanghai.
Asked about opening a restaurant on the mainland, his answer is “maybe”.
Ducasse operates a cooking school in downtown Paris, which offers workshops to the general public.
As for China, he’s planning to open a cooking school in Shanghai within one or two years, but he doesn’t reveal more details.
The French-born Monegasque started training to be a chef when he was 16.
And at 33, he was the head chef at Le Louis XV in Monaco – the first hotel restaurant awarded three Michelin stars.
In 1998, he became the first six-starred chef with three more Michelin stars for Alain Ducasse in Paris.
Speaking to China Daily about his ingredients for success, he says it is curiosity, observing the competition and working on new ideas and dishes for customers.
