Pot au feu of "Rougie" fois gras fully expresses Daniel Chambon's passion for cuisine.

He trained and worked under influential leaders of the French culinary scene such as the legendary Chef Alain Ducasse of Louis XV in Monaco and pastry master, Gaston Lenotre.

In 1988, the chef started traveling abroad to promote French cuisine in luxurious hotels and cruise liners, sharing his culinary creations and passion with food lovers around the world.

During his travels outside of Europe and France, Chinese food impressed him the most.

"Italy also has a great gourmet background, but Chinese cuisine offers a great impact on the taste buds," he says. Another factor for that feeling is the taste in China is so different from where he grew up.

Chambon admits a basic requirement for a good chef is he can prepare not just high-end ingredients, but make ordinary ingredients tasty. After all, only a small number of people can afford those expensive ingredients.

While offering delicate foods at his Michelin-starred restaurant, Chambon has another restaurant in France where he offers more ordinary ingredients at lower prices. He says making dishes out of ordinary ingredients better than other eateries is also part of his passion.

The chef discovered some good ingredients and seasoning products in China, such as very good wild fungus, pigeon and Chinese pepper from Sichuan.

After spending 40 years in the kitchen, he has witnessed many changes in the culinary world. Just like chefs now use different sauces, culinary traditions also change. The change comes not just from people's developing tastes, but also from variations in ingredients and cooking techniques.

The inventive chef says he has never stopped researching new ingredients and new cooking methods.

His latest experiment is to put chicken with seafood, which works surprisingly well. He has also prepared two new, innovative dishes, one with pork face and the other with cheese and black truffle.

French cuisine has changed from "standing" to "flat", and then to "standing", or dimensional again, he says. It is more powerful, with a better chew.

But the biggest change, he says, is "after a whole circle of things, it has returned to where it started－traditional."

Chambon says he is not planning to open a restaurant in China, because it would be difficult to prepare things to his exacting standards. But he would like to come to China as often as possible.

Chef Daniel Chambon's menu will be continued by Allan Limmer, Flo Beijing's executive chef for one month from Sept 22. His most popular dishes will become staples of Flo's menu.

IF YOU GO

Brasseries Flo Beijing

18 Xiaoyun Road, Chaoyang district, Beijing.

010-6595-5135.

Average cost per head: degustation menu 888 yuan ($145) for six courses.

Recommended: Pot au feu of "Rougie" fois gras and confit de canard, French century egg perigord style, mille-feuille of beef with truffle sauce.

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