Spotlight on: Daniel Boulud

epicure: How many times have you been to Singapore prior to setting up db Bistro Moderne?
Daniel Boulud: I was here three years ago and I did a dinner at The Fullerton Hotel Singapore and that was my first time. I was supposed to come to the Grand Prix last year but I had a restaurant to open in Miami. So I came in June to attend Marina Bay Sand’s press conference, and now, for the opening.

What convinced you to open in Singapore?
When Singapore was offered to me, I already felt that the people here are knowledgeable about food. For the past 20 years or more, great chefs from all over the world have been coming here to cook. There was already the passion and interest and also certainly, a wish to try good food. What’s more, when I heard that Guy Savoy, Santi Santamaria, Wolfgang Puck and Mario Batali were also opening their restaurants here, I thought: “I’m going to be ok”. If I’m going to cry (over the business), they’re all going to cry too.”

What did you have to take into consideration when conceptualising a new restaurant for each country?
It was the ingredients. We have to source for the most consistent produce which we feel is compatible to our standards in New York. To do the frites, we still haven’t found the perfect potato. This is a fairly cheap ingredient and when you start to ship it from America, it becomes a very expensive item. We’re using the French variety for now. Half of the conceptualisation is done in New York—who we are, what we can do and what we best know how to do; and the other half, is an adaptation to the local culture.

What’s a little known fact about your cuisine?
Well, there’s a percentage of fat in our burger that is mixed into the lean meat. In New York, we serve the cote de boeuf at Daniel and we give the top flap to DBGB and we put that into the burger. Here, I use the fat from Wolfgang Puck’s ribeye, as he brings in a very good aged beef. We always have aged fat in our burger which is much better in quality and we don’t use much but it makes a difference. The meat tastes more flavourful and moist. To reciprocate, I invite Wolfgang to Daniel’s whenever he’s in New York.

How special is the DB burger?
It takes three days of preparation to make the burger: marinate the short ribs, braise for hours and hours, then build up the stuffing. It’s a long process; lots of ingredients go into it. To me, the burger is about putting together an iconic American staple with the French classic which is beef braised in red wine. Burgers were generally created as a fast food, something you can eat with one hand. That’s how the drive-in culture came about in America, because you can eat and drive at the same time. But with the DB burger, you have to use two hands so you need a chauffeur!

Would you create a different version of the burger for Singapore?
Maybe. But give me a little bit more time.

How do you maintain the standards across your restaurants?
I invest a lot in my management company. These are people who have worked with me for many years. We monitor every single aspect from maintenance to training to the service staff. We have a manager whose sole responsibility is to communicate about the recipes to all the chefs at my restaurants. It takes a lot of manpower to make it work. Every week, we have hour-long meetings and sometimes, that means communicating over Skype when we are not all in New York. The managers and directors would talk to each other, the director of wines will talk to the sommeliers.

Best business advice?
To be successful, I think you need a certain amount of restaurants to support such a huge staff. You cannot do it with just two or three establishments. But at the end of the day, I understand that food is all about the chefs’ skill. With competence, comes possibilities and possibilities come only with having a decent model to make things work better.

At which stage of your career do you think you’re at right now?
I still have a lot to do. I will never retire, as much as I hope to be able to. Because I want to share the legacy of what I’ve created with the people who have been very loyal to me. My chef at Daniel, Jean François Bruel, has been with me for 14 years. And he’s even more passionate and creative today than 10 years ago, more driven, and I give him more support and responsibility. My next plan? Maybe to open a restaurant in France, that would be a full circle.

Who’s the next chef to look out for in New York?
Rich Torrisi who used to work for me. He’s recently opened Torrisi Italian Specialities in SoHo. Chef-owner Paul Leibrandt at Corton, he’s one of the next superstars in America. Another three Michelin star material is Daniel Humm at Eleven Madison.

Latest cooking trends?
I created DBGB which was really more about a place where the focus is on beer, burger bangers and mash and beer. It definitely got a wave with that. Now there’re beer gardens opening everywhere.