Philippe Etchebest: "The most important thing is that I can be useful and helpful"
Fifteen years after his television debut, Philippe Etchebest continues to explore cooking as a human adventure. From distressed kitchens to faraway lands, the chef - who has opened a fourth restaurant in his Bordeaux stronghold, Le Classique - puts his fame at the service of transmission, sharing and respect for people and products.
GAULT&MILLAU Today, you take part in three TV shows: Cauchemar en cuisine, Top Chef and Un chef au bout du monde. How do you organize your time?
Philippe Etchebest: If I can divide my time between my restaurants and filming, it's because my work is organized. There's Dominique, my wife, who runs the restaurants, and a team of colleagues who've been with me for over ten years. In January, we draw up the year's schedule. It's quite comfortable, because it allows us to anticipate. Shooting dates for Cauchemar en cuisine are scheduled for two days a week, once a month. Top Chef is filmed over the October-November period, for two or three days at a time. By TGV, from Bordeaux, I'm in Paris in two hours, which is very convenient.
What about Un chef au bout du monde?
P.E.: These are two-week phases, two or three times a year. Exceptionally, last summer we went to Australia for three weeks, each trip taking a day in this immense country. Objectif Top Chef also took up a lot of my time, even though we were shooting in Bordeaux, which meant I could be in my restaurants in the evenings. In 2023, I had to make some choices, and I opted for Un chef au bout du monde. Alexandre Soullier of Bonne Pioche, producer of Rendez-vous en terre inconnue, came up with the idea for the show, which I immediately embraced.
