10 Dishes With Chef Eric Canino
The chef at Michelin two-star restaurant La Voile at La Réserve Ramatuelle Hotel & Spa on the French Riviera tackles our speed round of questions.
After a shift, what is your favorite guilty pleasure to eat? “This might sound odd, but if I’m being honest, I love fruit at the end of a shift.”
Is there one dish you won’t cook? “Brussels sprouts.”
All-time favorite spice. “Pepper, as pepper is different in every country and I feel like I am traveling when I use the different kinds.”
What is your favorite music to listen to while you cook? “Italian!”
Did you grow up cooking as a child? “I began cooking when I was a teenager, around 13.”
What cookbook is your go-to resource for inspiration? “I love to discover old cookbooks, often in flea markets. Once I find one delicious old recipe, I rethink it in a more modern way. I am also working a lot with cookbooks about new modern techniques.”
After all these years working in restaurants, do you still enjoy going out to eat? “It is still a real pleasure going out and eating in a restaurant with my son and my wife or with my colleagues as well, who, like me, are always very curious about food.”
Is there one chef you’d like to cook with? “Paul Bocuse, for sure, because he is and will remain for me the iconic chef in France. Today, I dream about cooking with Jean-François Piège, who has a high level of technique!”
Name the all-time best cooking show. “Sometimes I watch Top Chef but I prefer the cooking shows featuring regions in France or elsewhere in the world that show their local products, people and culinary specialties.”
What is the one tool that you always make sure to pack when you’re traveling for business? “My kitchen knives, of course, as each one has its own importance, role and even its own story”
Chef Eric Canino runs Michelin two-star restaurant La Voile at luxe La Réserve Ramatuelle Hotel & Spa on the French Riviera.
Interview has been condensed and edited.