I come from very far, madam, and I have always looked at others with admiration, doubting that I would be able to do better than them.
These words, pronounced in the kitchen of one of the best gastronomic addresses in Paris*, are perplexing.
They come from the first - and only - chef of Lebanese origin to have obtained a Michelin star.
Alan Geaam's path, paved with humility and combativeness, is reflected in his exotic recipes, executed with mastery.
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Michelin Guide 2022 file: starred restaurants
ne morning, the cook falls ill: he drops his broom to start cooking.
Stephane PATTI/SDP
Born in Monrovia (Liberia) into a Lebanese family, this youngest son arrived at the age of 5 in Tripoli, a poor city in northern Lebanon, then in the midst of civil war.
When the fighting prevented him from studying at school, he ran his father's grocery store at dawn, near the souk, and watched over the mother's cooking pots.
“My mother has always been my chef,
insists this robust Levantine with raven hair,
it is she who taught me hospitality, generosity, the requirement of a cuisine of emotions.
She transmitted to me an enormous spiritual capital”
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