Introduction

As chef de cuisine for Outhier, my job was to execute his recipes for an international clientele. This proved to be more difficult than expected, as many products commonly available in France were either very hard or impossible to find. One day, I went to the market to buy apples for our signature foie gras dish and there were none. Instead, I bought some ginger and Thai mangoes—one of ten kinds that were available! I went back to my kitchen and seared a piece of foie gras, caramelized a piece of mango, and reduced an intense vegetable broth with some ginger. When I ate this combination, I had a true eureka moment and fusion was born for me.