Chef Alain Ducasse, the legendary chef with a growing empire of Michelin-starred hotels and restaurants. (Photo by RUDY LIWANAG)

Alain Ducasse, the legendary chef with a growing empire of Michelin-starred hotels and restaurants in three continents, speaks with a gentle, soothing voice. He pauses and thinks between sentences, which come like precious jewels in a culinary world governed by materialistic giants.

In a one-on-one interview with the Manila Bulletin, his voice rises at the mention of globalization, which makes possible the availability of ingredients everywhere in the world, at all times. “Globalization is not good for the culinary arts. It is making people lose their personal identity, their individual identity, the uniqueness of their regions,” the master said as voice rose and trembled almost in anger.

He narrated an incident which illustrates the unwelcome intrusion of globalization into our now universally connected lives.

The last time he was in his home in southern France, the local market was selling grapefruit from China while the fruit was off season in Europe.

“I find it sad that the fruit traveled 12,000 miles from where it was picked. How many weeks, or even months did it take to reach my village? How much fossil fuel was used to transport it?  This is unnatural,” he seethed.

“What is natural is to eat by the season, consuming food harvested, grown or caught as close to one’s kitchen as possible,” he added.

To illustrate, he narrated a recent trip to the United States. “In the US, they do not know what’s in season, because their markets sell everything all the time. And this is the fault of commerce. Commerce created the demand and provided the products,” he said sadly.

A very outspoken supporter of sustainable production, Ducasse practices what he preaches. “It is not progress to be able to eat asparagus and strawberries all year round. Biodiversity has to be preserved. When I stopped serving blue fin tuna in my restaurants, it is not to make more tuna available to the Japanese. If everybody eats tuna sushi, there will be no more fish left. Man has responsibilities to the environment.”

He believes that that top chefs have a role to play in ensuring restaurants across the globe embrace sustainable practices.

“Nowadays we are lucky that the media are interested in us so we have a role to play in regards to sustainability,” Ducasse told an international audience a few weeks ago. “There are chefs who play a leading role in public opinion and we have to be careful to get across our point.”

Chef Ducasse is in the Philippines to share his vision at the Enderun Colleges at The Fort.

And this is his advice to young men and women worshipping at his feet: “Learn the craft perfectly. Remain curious. Work more, faster, better. Or be a hairdresser.”