Food
Long Live the King – At the Table with Guy Savoy
With an approach steeped in prestige and gastronomic history, it’s easy to forget how Guy Savoy’s common touch has led to his enduring status and appeal.
French chef Guy Savoy is all over the news the week I am due to meet him. His eponymous Parisian restaurant has just been voted number one in the world by global gourmet guide, La Liste, which rivals Michelin and World’s 50 Best by aggregating data from thousands of publications and guidebooks with millions of online reviews. And he has been awarded this first place an incredible nine years running, with French media lauding him as simply ‘the world’s best chef’.
The other news is that a date has just been fixed in May 2026 for his investiture in the illustrious Académie des Beaux-Arts, where Gastronomy has officially been recognised as an Art, with Guy selected as the first ever chef to join their august ranks. All this should make me feel nervous as I walk up the imposing red-carpeted staircase of the palatial 18th-century Hôtel de la Monnaie, where his temple of haute-cuisine occupies the top floor of the official Paris Mint, established over a thousand years ago, and still manufacturing Legion of Honour medals today.
The door swings open automatically – I have been spotted by an invisible camera – and the spry, silver-haired 72 year-old is waiting for me, dressed as always in his immaculate white chef’s jacket. Of all the great French chefs I have interviewed over the years, Guy Savoy has always been the most down-to-earth, effortlessly making people feel at ease. And as we sit down at a window table overlooking a breathtaking Parisian panorama stretching from the Louvre to the romantic Pont des Arts, he immediately begins by highlighting the crucial influence of his parents on his long culinary journey.
Guy Savoy, gastronomy master, at the pass in his eponymously named restaurant (Image credtit: Laurence Mouton)
Growing up in Bourgoin-Jaillou near Lyon, he explains how he was literally born into the restaurant business. “My father was the town gardener, instilling a love and appreciation of fresh, seasonal vegetables, fruits and herbs, while my mother ran La Buvette de l’Esplanade, a café in the middle of the municipal gardens. I started helping her with the cooking when I was 15 and honestly, I can still smell the aromas wafting from the oven, taste her delicious pies and tarts.” At 16, he would quit school to work as an apprentice in a local pâtisserie, and a year later left home to join the kitchen brigade in the legendary gastronomic restaurant of the Troisgros brothers in Roanne.
Ten years later, he opened his own restaurant in Paris, determined to be a financially independent chef, something he proudly remains forty-five years later, insisting that “I use only my own money to finance all my projects. I don’t have to attend board meeting as there is no board. I answer to no one and take sole responsibility for everything.”
SAVOY FAIRE
A key innovator since the Nouvelle Cuisine revolution, through the trend of celebrity chef bistros, overseas satellite restaurants and bistronomie, Savoy is the perfect person to ask how French cuisine is evolving and modernising today. But surprisingly he tells me that “it is the restaurant itself that is now the most important element in the world of cuisine, and this is where things are really changing.” A chef’s restaurant, for Savoy, is a recipe in itself, with numerous ingredients.
“To begin with, I talk of La Monnaie as ‘ma maison’, my home. Here we have the history of the building, the spectacular view over the Seine river, the unique collection of artworks and sculptures that has been lent by the celebrated collector, François Pinault. And in addition to enjoying the gourmandise of my cooking, I offer my guests bonhomie and generosity. So I am present in the restaurant more than ever.”
The chef has certainly been true to his word these last few years, reducing his former global restaurant empire to twice-yearly visits to Guy Savoy Las Vegas, accompanying President Macron to Washington to promote French gastronomy, and devoting the rest of his time, energy and creativity to the privileged guests who come to dine at La Monnaie. “I am at the restaurant every day at 8.30 in the morning when the produce arrives. I need to see the carrot and picture it growing in a field, to admire the immaculate Bresse chickens that are a work of art in themselves, to touch the lobster and imagine it swimming in the ocean.”
Life is becoming increasing virtual, says Savoy. But when he meets with the kitchen brigade to discuss the day, “we are back in the real world, transforming a fresh product into a unique dish that will soon be on its way for guests to savour at table.”
In addition to enjoying the gourmandise of my cooking, I offer my guests bonhomie and generosity. So I am present in the restaurant more than ever.
He makes sure he greets guests when they arrive, and even though he could go home early, will often stay till the end, well after midnight. “And I love it all. I think I have become addicted to this life... I never had a formal education, but every day, coming to the restaurant is like attending university for me, eternally learning by talking to our producers, my chefs, the waiters and sommeliers, the clients. What other job lets you do this?”
It is certainly unique to dine chez Guy Savoy. While the soaring ceilings, views and decor of the five dining rooms take your breath away, the experience is never intimidating; a far cry from the pompous old days of French fine dining, when clients often felt they had to whisper at table. The discreet waiters here effortlessly keep guests relaxed and the atmosphere convivial, and everyone is treated the same; movie star, millionaire businessmen, politicians and royalty, or a traditional French family splashing out for their annual gourmet treat. And who knows who you might spot.
The chef recounts how “Michelle Yeoh dropped in for lunch once and plumped her golden Oscar statue in the middle of the table, while Clint Eastwood told his driver to be ready to leave at 11pm and then he was still enjoying himself at one in the morning.” Jodie Foster is a regular when she visits Paris, also, “though I was surprised to see her here at 8am the other day. Turns out she likes to give her promo interviews in our dining room.”
But you have to be prepared to splash out when reserving a table, as this is unabashedly one of the most expensive addresses in the French capital. While at lunch, the seven-course ‘Keep it Simple’ menu, served in 90 minutes, is priced at €280 per person; the ‘addition’ rises to a vertiginous €740 for the extravagant thirteen-course ‘Couleurs, Textures et Saveurs’ tasting in the evening. The wine list is phenomenal, a weighty tome that has its own table alongside diners, but don’t despair, as the sommelier expertly recommends wine pairing options at more affordable prices than vintage Grands Crus. And with 35 chefs working away since morning, Savoy’s recipes elevate the finest ingredients grown and produced in France into remarkable dishes.
Among legendary signatures, everyone must taste his rich artichoke soup with earthy slices of black truffles, Parmesan and a buttery mushroom brioche. ‘L’huître en nage glacée’ is the ultimate interpretation of this iconic shellfish; a raw oyster laid upon a lightly creamed oyster purée then covered with oyster jus jelly and briny seaweed and lemon granité.
Guy confides that his own personal favourite is a seasonal ‘land and sea’ recipe, so is not always on the menu: “For me, ‘mussels and meadow mushrooms’ perfectly captures the unexpected harmony of sea and forest flavours,” says Savoy. “In fact, I aim always to sublime the produce – even the most unloved – by pairing them with unlikely ingredients; the humble Brussels sprout and lobster coral; an intense sauce of red mullet liver poured over spinach leaves; my verdant ‘tout petit pois’, combining raw peas, pea jelly, creamy pea purée, whole tender-cooked peas and a soft-poached egg. I never forget what my mother used to say - La Grande Cuisine begins with a tasty cabbage soup.”
Bonhomie is the order of the day when it comes to Guy Savoy (Image credit: Restaurant Guy Savoy)
The dining rooms at Guy Savoy are intimate and relaxed (Image credit: John Brunton)
A STAR REGARDLESS OF STARS
I interviewed Savoy ten years ago, just before the momentous move to La Monnaie, and asked him how much longer he thought he would carry on cooking. He smiled and said, “Just look at Paul Bocuse, who is still going strong at the age of 80, so I still have a long way to go.” The legendary Monsieur Paul lasted till the ripe old age of 91, and talking to Savoy today he seems even more enthusiastic than ever.
“Frankly, after 55 years, I have never worked in such favourable conditions. The kitchens here at the Monnaie are spacious and state-of.the-art, the perfect environment to create new recipes and achieve the excellence I demand in each dish we serve. And we are closed three days a week so I finally have time for myself after years of working long hours every single day.”
Most weekends he heads for his family chalet in the Swiss Alps, to let the mountains recharge his batteries. “My cooking there is simple; autumnal wild mushrooms that I pick in the forest, a grilled filet of perch fished nearby in ice cold lakes, when friends come, maybe a succulent boeuf bourguignon, slow-cooked atop a wood-fired oven. This weekend was much more eclectic as I stayed in Paris to try out different restaurants; Sunday lunch Japanese, while dinner was a rare treat, a wonderful choucroute in a traditional brasserie. Monday lunch, off to a new young French chef, very inventive, surprising, then a historic Italian trattoria, home-cooking by La Mamma assisted by her sons.”
One topic, the big elephant in the room, that inevitably comes up in conversation is The Michelin Guide, which shocked the global gourmet world by removing Savoy’s precious third star in 2023, after 21 years. This year, the inscrutable red book courted more scandal by demoting the venerable Georges Blanc, who had held three stars since 1981. Savoy recalls how “it was obviously a great shock initially, but then I was overwhelmed by the messages of support and it honestly had no effect on our business. Now I feel that if they decide to reinstate the third star then I will be pleased like the sportsman who is world champion but would be happy to win an Olympic gold too.”
For Savoy, the priority in life is not to get the Michelin star back, but to remain healthy, “so I can carry on making my guests happy. I stay positive and always look forward to new adventures.” His great passion outside the kitchen is rugby, and he’s already making plans to travel to Australia for the first time – if he can get tickets for the final for the Rugby World Cup in Sydney in 2027. “When France hosted the World Cup I was a gastronomic ambassador, taking part in the opening ceremony. But for Sydney, I will just come to enjoy the rugby and discover the country, its cuisine and produce. No pop-up cooking for me.”