La Serre Series | A veggie focused interview with Chef Izu

Q. Now that La Serre has made a name for itself in Dubai, how busy is your schedule? When is your day off and what do you do to unwind?

Chef: Thank-you for saying that, but I do believe we still have a lot to do. A typical day for me is waking up at 6am and having breakfast as a family where I ask my sons how their days were yesterday, even though they’re half asleep! If I have time I drop my son to school but I try to be at work for 8:30am and am usually here until midnight. I try to take Saturday’s off to spend with my family, and I usually take my son to football practice. When I have time, I like to go biking. I can do about 100km at a stretch, which takes about 2.5 hours.

Q. In your opinion, how vegetarian friendly is French food generally speaking?

Chef: French food is very diverse depending on the region in France. For instance, people in the south might not consider certain things that people in the north eat to be ‘French’ and vice-versa, but its all still essentially French cuisine. Because it’s so diverse and varied many vegetarian dishes can come from it.

Q. When designing La Serre’s Bistro and Boulangerie menus, how much consideration did you give to your vegetarian customers?

Chef: Well I’m not the kind of person who can sit in an office behind a computer and create my menu. I wanted to create light and refreshing food in general. The sun is always shining here and when it’s hot you don’t want heavy food that will put you to sleep. You want to be able to carry on with the rest of your day and enjoy light food that makes you feel good and many vegetarian dishes naturally fall in to that. Also, the vegetarian dishes were designed to be enjoyed by all customers, not just vegetarians. So in that way it’s French food adapted for this climate.

Q. What is your favourite vegetarian dish on the menu?

Chef: I love the Lebanese mountain tomatoes with goat cheese and hazelnut and the Rigatoni pasta with truffles, but to pick a favourite from the menu is difficult. All the dishes are good and the one I eat depends on my mood. Having said that, if white truffles were in season, I would have opted for those today.

Q. Do you think restaurants should put more emphasis on meatless dishes?

Chef: When I was living in London and other parts of Europe, I saw chefs that just took the meat out of a dish and presented it as vegetarian. You can’t just remove the meat and present your vegetarian customer with the remaining plate of vegetables. A vegetarian dish is one that should be delicious and satisfying on its own. For example, on our menu, the artichoke salad tastes like a complete dish on it’s own. The wagyu is simply an addition that adds another dimension to it, but it isn’t a necessary ingredient. Similarly, the Quinoa Salad is also designed to be a completely balanced dish on its own, without the confit duck legs. So I think chefs should focus on wholesome and balanced vegetarian dishes, rather than just “meat-free” dishes. In fact, there shouldn’t be such a segregation; its not that the meat dishes are only for the meat–eaters and vice versa. A lot of meat-eaters enjoy my vegetarian dishes as much as the meat dishes, and I see an increasing trend here.

Q. What is your view on the quality of home grown vegetables available in the UAE market and to what degree do you use them as opposed to imported produce?

Chef: I can’t lie to you. You do get some good produce from local farms but the problem is its not consistent. It’s the reality of where we live, the soil and the climate, etc. We can’t tell our customers that we’re not serving them a dish because the quality was bad or we’re still waiting for a delivery. We import 90% of our ingredients to retain consistency. I go and source the products myself and meet suppliers. Some are based in places I used to live, so I know exactly what product I’m getting. I recently returned from a trip to Ethiopia to source our Arabica coffee supply and while there, I was introduced to some interesting things like Teff – the next big super-food. I’ve brought some back but haven’t cooked it yet.

I’m a big believer in understanding all the ingredients and where they are from so I can trace it back. Last year alone I went to Australia, Peru and Italy. In Italy I was sourcing rice for our risotto and was shown the process of how rice is aged. I didn’t know they age rice! When you age it, it stabilizes the starch structure so it allows you to consistently give a good product. Our olive oil also comes from a small farm near the Liguria region of Italy. The olives are very small but sweet. They have a lovely balance – not too acidic or peppery. If you’re in the know with olive oil, you’ll like it and if you’re not in the know, you’ll still like it. It’s a happy medium. We are the only ones in Dubai who have this olive oil.

When you understand a product, you own it. That’s why I like to go out and see where it’s from. When customers ask where something is from, I don’t want to turn around and say, “I don’t know." If the customer wants to know what they are eating, you have to be informative.

The local produce I do use includes cherry tomatoes, red and white onions and some herbs - they are good quality. But for certain dishes I rely on Lebanese mountain tomatoes. The nuts I use mostly come from Turkey. Everything else is mostly from France, for example the burrata and even the radish.

Q. What is your favourite ingredient to use in vegetarian dishes?

Chef: I can’t do injustice to one ingredient over another by picking one. It’s like someone asking me to choose between my sons. I wont be able to; they are both so different but give me something so great.

Having said that, I love using a chilli called "piment d’espelette" in my cooking, which is grown on the border of France and Spain. In fact, let me bring one out for you.

For me, food that doesn’t have an element of chili is not really food. I’m not a fan of bland food – its something I’ve taken from my Nigerian heritage and the way my mother bought me up.

Q. If you had to take a vegetarian friend out for dinner in Dubai, which restaurant would you take them too (other than La Serre, of course)?

Chef: I rarely go out to eat, so my first preference would be to invite them over to my place. But other than that it would be Baker & Spice for lunch – I love the food there, and there are great vegetarian options. In fact I was just with the owner Yael in Ethiopia. I respect her a lot, she is passionate about what she does, and isn’t concerned about other restaurants or chefs.

Q. My favourite lentil salad in Dubai is the one at La Serre. Would you be willing to share the recipe?

Chef: Of course, it’s actually quite easy!

[VeggieBuzz: Click here for the recipe!]

Q. Now that things are running smoothly at La Serre, what are you plans for the future?

Chef: If you think my work is done here, it isn’t. You will notice that many of our dishes have improved considerably over the last year, and there is still plenty of room for improvement. For example when we were eating the ravioli with sundried tomato, you personally commented on how much it had improved since the last time you tried it. I am planning to dedicate part of my kitchen just for research. This way the dishes will keep getting better and better by really studying what goes into them.

Q. Do you get inspiration from any other restaurants or chefs in Dubai?

Chef: Not really. I can only be one person and that’s me. And I’m going to try to be the best I can be. I always admire what other people do, but it doesn’t affect what I do here. I am true to myself. I will go out to enjoy other restaurants once in a while, but that’s just to enjoy the meal, not to see what I can take from them.

Chef: Now, it’s my turn to do the asking……

Click here to read about the meal itself, including full descriptions of the food we were served.

Click here for La Serre's Quinoa Salad Recipe.