Mickaël Cornac, Executive Chef of Les Bouchons

Mickaël Cornac, Executive Chef of Les Bouchons

In this interview, Mickaël Cornac, Executive Chef of Les Bouchons, shares his passion for the food and beverage industry.

What do you do?

I oversee Les Bouchons restaurants as Executive Chef, overseeing five establishments, three in Singapore and two in Malaysia.

How did you get into the industry?

I started to be a chef at 15 years old at the campsite in Carcassonne (Located in the South of France) during my summer holidays.

Share with us a story from behind the scenes.

When people dine at our restaurant, they may not be aware of the extensive preparations required behind the stoves. For instance, our traditional French Onion Soup takes two days to prepare: one day for our chicken stock and another for sautéing and caramelizing our onions for 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours before adding to the chicken stock. This process results in a sweet and flavourful onion soup.

What food memory from your childhood or travels stands out?

One of my fondest memories is my mom’s traditional Pot-au-Feu, served every Sunday during the winter. She would start cooking it in the morning to enjoy it for dinner. It’s a comforting and unique dish, especially during cold weather.

What’s the best / worst part of your job?

The best part of my job is meeting customers at their tables, receiving positive feedback, and congratulating my team for their excellent work. The worst part is when customers have to wait too long for their orders during busy periods, as I always consider their perspective.

What’s one of your favourite food and beverage pairings?

One of my favourite pairings is enjoying a tenderloin or ribeye steak with a glass of Château Haut-Grelot, Côtes de Bordeaux.

What’s one of the craziest things you’ve seen behind the scenes?

One of the craziest moments I’ve experienced behind the scenes was when a customer sent a beef ribeye back to the kitchen four times to have it cooked well done. I ended up cooking the ribeye in the deep fryer, and surprisingly, the customer enjoyed it. But I hope that this will never happen again in the future.

The perfect day off would be…

To spend time with my wife and daughter outdoors without thinking of work and have fun all together while enjoying a delicious local meal. Such days recharge my batteries, and I return to work fully motivated the next day.

A day in the life of Chef Mickaël Cornac is…

Very busy, from the moment I wake up until I go to sleep. Managing five establishments is challenging but enjoyable because I get to do what I love every single day.

What does Mickaël Cornac do for fun?

I love exploring new local food with my wife, as we both share a passion for food. I also cherish spending my free time with my little angel (daughter).

What’s something you’d like guests to know about Les Bouchons?

I want our guests to think of Les Bouchons as a French bistro that serves authentic French cuisine, including affordable and delicious steak and fries.

How have you grown in your profession? What are your key learnings from your start in the industry until now? Any misconceptions?

I’ve grown in my profession by starting from scratch and travelling around the world to learn about different cuisines. I began as a commis de cuisine (Assistant Chef) and eventually became an Executive Chef at Les Bouchons. My key learning is to never give up and always maintain a positive attitude no matter how challenging the journey as a chef may be.

What do you want people to know about being a chef as a profession?

Firstly, being a chef is a wonderful profession. Regardless of one’s position, we are able to serve amazing dishes as long as we approach them with passion and dedication. However, it also involves a lot of sacrifices as we need to work long hours and to ensure that our customers will be satisfied.

What’s your view on the food and beverage scene in Malaysia?

The food and beverage scene in Malaysia has a huge potential as people in Malaysia like to explore new cuisines and concepts. The country can accommodate a wide variety of culinary offerings.

What practices do you currently implement or hope to implement to work towards social responsibility and sustainability in the future?

In the future, we aim to enhance sustainability at our restaurant by working with local suppliers for our ingredients, reducing food waste, conserving water, and finding methods to minimize energy consumption in our cooking processes.

What can guests look forward to in the upcoming months?

We will be curating a special Christmas menu for our guests in the coming months. Apart from that, we have recently launched our Set Lunch menu offering two options: 2 courses for RM 68 and 3 courses for RM 88.

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