Michel Portos

“Foie gras is fabulous. It’s like modeling clay”

“Being from Marseille, foie gras belongs neither to my culture nor my traditions. I must therefore transcend it, bring something unique to it in order to want to serve it. That said, I think it’s a fabulous product for a chef who wants to have fun.
Why ? Because it’s like modeling clay. You can sculpt it into cubes, into a ball, into a triangle, sticks; you can sear it, poach it, smoke it, cook it “sous-vide”, arrange it and dress it in a thousand ways.

From my travels around the world, I’ve gleaned quite a few ideas. Like many chefs, I was fascinated by Japan. My thoughts are as follows: for a chef, the point is not to copy a local cuisine, whether that be Japanese, Mexican or Italian, but to take from those cuisines the quintessential element that gives them their authenticity. That, as you savor your dish, is what’s going to give you the feeling of traveling to another land, of finding yourself in Cuba, in Santo Domingo or in Vietnam. For these reasons, I cannot treat foie gras in a traditional way, even as I work in Bordeaux ! Your grandfather’s family recipe, that’s not for me. On the other hand, I am intransigent on quality. Like everyone at one time, I had “my” breeder. It was through my butcher, one day when I was in a bind, that I discovered Rougié foie gras. Unwillingly, I tried it…and ever since, that’s all I’ll use. Morality: We’ve got to get beyond the “same old” especially with its notions of “soil” and nostalgia!”

Michel Portos
Born in Marseille, Michel Portos got his first training in Bordeaux at the Club des Girondins, then in Rouzic at the Chapon Fin. He then returned to Marseille, worked at the Jardins de l’Opéra in Toulouse, before joining the Maison Troisgros in Roanne. He has also worked in London and travels frequently to Asia.
In 2001, he was awarded his first star at “Côté Théâtre” in Perpignan. It was there that Jean-Claude Borgel sought him out to run the kitchens of the famous Relais & Châteaux Hauterive Saint-James overlooking the Garonne River.