Olivier Roellinger's orchestra

Among the group of chefs who have been awarded three Michelin stars, Olivier Roellinger’s story stands out. It was not because he closed his restaurant only a few years after he was awarded the stars, nor was it because his culinary organisation was based on the requirement for very fresh products. It was not even because he admitted he was incapable of making a runny omelette. It was because his career path was built on a desire to express himself which existed before he had any contact with a kitchen or gastronomy, and consisted of bringing together the necessary resources to express what he felt inside and where he came from. These resources are obviously techniques found in his culinary training which he undertook late in life, but they are more related to his imagination about far-away places, his constant contact with farmers, wholesale fishmongers and local fishermen, and learning more about the history of the spice trade. These are like instruments in Olivier Roellinger’s orchestra which portray his life story.