In 2012, Philippe Geneletti was appointed Chef of the California Grill gourmet restaurant at Disneyland Paris. It’s like a homecoming considering that his career started in this very 5-star hotel, as a line cook. His career is like a fairy tale that might inspire the heirs of great Walt, after the success of the “Ratatouille” movie. Did by any chance a good fairy bend over his cradle, 40 years ago in Albertville?
FLASHBACK INTERVIEW IN THREE QUESTIONS
BH: Back in March 1992. You are 18-year old and you graduated with a CAP in cooking. You then join the cuisines of the brand new Disneyland Hotel, short before the inauguration of the first European Disney theme park.
Flashback question N° 1: What does an 18-year old young man with a CAP in cooking dream of? Is it the achievement of your American dream?
Philippe Geneletti: Yes, it was like my American dream coming true. It gave me the opportunity to go there. I’ve always been very keen on traveling and feeding myself with new influences. I chose this job to learn and I’m still learning. For me, Disneyland Paris is an incredible adventure. We work with fine ingredients in a fairytale atmosphere, with interesting evolutions and successful concepts. I now feel like crossing borders again and re-experience the United States.
BH: Back in 1994.You enter the high gastronomy’s world. Aged 20, you go to Saulieu and join Bernard Loiseau’s team (3 Michelin stars) as a station chef. This is the beginning of an incredible (initiatory?) journey between French “terroir” and the great American outdoors… and 15 years later: in 2009, the renowned Guide Rouge celebrates its 100th edition when YOU celebrate your first star (Les Pléiades in Barbizon). You’ve just turned 35 and become one of youngest starred French Chef. All the major food critics acknowledge your culinary art. You’ve managed to create your own style blending tradition and modernity, delicacies with refinement, childhood memories with futurist dreams.
Flashback question 2: What does a successful Chef like you have in mind? The achievements? The people who influenced you or helped you? Your sacrifices? Your doubts? Your future?
Philippe Geneletti: This distinction is very rewarding, after dedicating 20 years of my life to my passion job. I somewhat forgot my youth. I started working when I was 15 and did not experience the evenings and weekends out. My only focus was my work. When I saw my name in the “Guide Rouge”, my first thoughts were for my team. A chef is nothing without his team. There are difficulties in this job. When you end up doubting too much, never give up but fight harder. One should follow the example of Chefs like Ferran Adria and Bernard Loiseau, who gave the best of themselves keeping up the same passion. I took advantage of the award to go even further in the accuracy of my cooking: more creative and more precise.
BH: We are in 2012. You come back home, like a child prodigy, an acknowledged and rewarded chef. You agree to take up the challenge: create a new culinary identity for the California Grill, blending French high gastronomy with Disney‘s playful spirit and expectations.
Flashback question 3: Today after three years in the California Grill’s “piano”, can you explain the culinary concept you created and developed; the demands and difficulties that you met, especially those linked to the nature of the restaurant. Do you have projects, menus, creations ahead of you?
Philippe Geneletti: I didn’t develop any particular concept; I just kept the restaurant going with fantastic kitchen and restaurant staff. Together with the maître d’hôtel, we developed a consistent service, focusing on interaction with the kitchen. I created fine products to enhance our exceptional wine cellar, and tried to please as many guests as I possibly could from foreign countries. My team and I took up the challenge to cook differently. I created new dishes every day, with different flavors and colors while learning how to interact with tastes. Cooking is an extraordinary adventure. You just have to know where you are going, then follow relentlessly the road and keep looking for the best products.
California Grill Disneyland® Hotel
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