March/April Chef Feature : William Girad

Firstly, my sincere apologies. This feature was supposed to be up last month but with my recent almost impossible schedule I kept putting it off. Reason for the header to bear 2 months ….Why ? This post is about a good friend of mine, so I wanted it to be well thought and written. Short and Sweet but not neglected (I recently realized I am rather long winded …. oops … I’m doing it again….)

This month we shine the spotlight on my friend William Girad, Chef de Cuisine of the Al Mahara at the Burj al Arab, Dubai. I wont begin on the kitchens that William has graced during his career, but more on his personality. His work is one of the kind where, young chefs would wonder to themselves, “Could I do that next time?” or “That’s the kind of chef I wanna be in the future ..” He runs his food with flair, keeping to his French roots, exploring new ingredients inspired from his travels but keeps his mark in his dishes. He runs his kitchen calmly, intelligently and most important of all, he runs it smoothly.

Rather than the conventional “ass kicking” as one would expect from the places he has been in, he explains and throws in a pinch of sarcastic humor to keep the spirits up (well sometimes it is more like a handful rather than a pinch … lol) … Having worked in the same hotel (both of us running total opposites of restaurants) many laughs and ideas were exchanged. (or maybe the fact we got along was because we did what we wanted to, not actually caring too much for authority ??? … hmmm … food for thought ?? lol) Or was it the fact that this Singaporean cooked French or that Frenchman loves spicy food?!? (He’s crazy about spicy Tom Yam … probably the only French I know who takes spicy food so well … well better than I can … lol)

William has a great working background, 1-Star Michelin Auberge du Cheval Blanc, 2-Star Michelin Le Drouant, 1-Star Michelin Maison Prunier under MOF awarded Mr Biscay, 1-Star Michelin Le Bristol at the Palace Hotel Bristol in Paris, 2-Star Michelin Les Muses, 2-Star Michelin L’Elysée, 3-Star Michelin Le Taillevent, then back to Les Muses as Executive Sous Chef.

After which he made his way to Asia, signature restaurant V9 at the Sofitel in Bangkok and then to the Burj al Arab. However all this actually counts for nothing if the chef himself does not have the ability to cook, control the team and relate to the people around, so it’s great that William makes it count. If any of you have had the pleasure of working in or having a meal from any kitchen that William has ever resided in you should know what I am speaking of. For those who have not, pen it down in your calendar, you wont regret it.

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I have writing it. Till then, HAPPY FOODING EVERYONE !!!!

Please follow the link to see more of William’s dishes HERE