From this Monday, April 25, Norbert Tarayre returns to access-prime-time on M6 with a new show, Chefs à domicile. Program that gave him a hard time. The troublemaker confides in Télé Star.
While the ninth season of The best bakery in France ended this Friday, April 22, Norbert Tarayre continues to monopolize M6’s access-prime-time. From this Monday, April 25 at 6:40 p.m., the chef discovered in Top Chef takes the reins of a new show, Chefs at homewhen he competes against other renowned cooks (and all passed through the prestigious culinary competition of M6) on dishes that they must prepare “blind”, not knowing their customers of the day nor their tastes. Each week, the former acolyte of Jean Imbert will therefore face a leader well known to M6 viewers: Pierre Augé, Noëmie Honiat, Merouan Bounekraf as well as Mohamed Chekh. Duels that have gave a hard time to Norbert Tarayre. He surrenders to TV Star.
Télé Star: What was the trigger for this program?
Norbert Tarayre: Lately, I’ve become much more of a business manager than a chef, so I asked M6 to come back behind the stove. And I was spoiled. This endangerment is good. What drives me in life is fear. The more I’m afraid, the more I’m interested. Coming back to the kitchen is a pressure. I was more in a whirlwind than troublemaker.
You are the host chef of this competition, have you been favoured?
As chief resident, I could indeed have had easier access to certain information, but the production assured me that this was not the case. I was sometimes surprised by my result against Pierre, Mohamed, Merouan and Noëmie. The competition was very tight. But nothing was manipulated or arranged. There was no production influence on anything.
Which of your opponents was the worst player?
No. In fact, the worst player is me! I was sometimes in great difficulty. When Pierre, Merouan, Mohamed and Noëmie managed to launch several preparations at the same time, I was messy, not precise enough. It was complicated for me. Some customers have also criticized me for my lack of precision on tastes and character. I didn’t dare to offer a cuisine with character. It’s always been my fault, I can’t do it.
How do you explain it?
The desire to please as many people as possible. I’ve always been afraid of hurting people. The fact that I’m not sure and that I don’t want to assert myself gives good food, but it’s not strong enough in character. My first opponent in my life is me. It is I who set myself limits. It’s me who is sometimes lazy or, on the contrary, does too much. You should never be satisfied with what you have. Seeing the cooking of other chefs, I tell myself that I still have a lot of work to do. That’s why I asked M6 if they could find me a program on which I would get back on track a little and I was so pissed off.
Norbert Tarayre: “I asked myself the question of stopping Chefs at home”
Was it an additional pressure to come back in this context, in competition with other chefs?
Verry much. The first leader I face is Merouan. I magnify twice my pasta dough, which is the basis of the kitchen. In my head, I spin. I wonder what I’m doing here. I am a merguez. I don’t know how to do anything anymore. I wanted to do Chefs at home to put myself in danger and at the first test, I shit myself. I asked myself the question of stopping or continuing the program. Finally, I stayed. I made a decision [dans sa recette, ndlr] that I assume entirely and it smiled on me rather well but I could have lost everything. After those thirty seconds when I was scared, it took me half an hour – during which I no longer speak – to rearm the machine.
What motivated you to continue?
My life. Nothing is acquired. Just because I’ve been doing TV for ten years, my ass is warm doesn’t mean I can’t fall. What are you doing at that time? Are you crying or are you coming back? I fell, I climbed, I came back up and reached the end. That’s life. I wanted to see if I was up to being a cook but it freaked me out. Really. I shit in my pants.
Between all your restaurants and your shows, do you manage to keep time for your family?
I take more and more time, yes. I freed myself from things. After my divorce and with the agreement of the mother, I asked for joint custody of my daughters, which forced me to make choices in my career. I stopped the theater and many other projects. I focused on a new life project that I was not used to: being a family. I had a fourth child. I’m having fun. I make dinner every night. I put my son to bed. I take care of my daughtersI go to meetings, I take them to sports: skating rink, basketball… It’s incredible.
Michelin stars fell recently. Do you miss it?
One of my restaurants, L’Escargot 1903, was starred thanks to chef Paolo Boscaro. But my stars are my customers. I had dreamed of it. I had the urge. And it comes back sometimes when I see a business for sale, I tell myself that I could get a star there but in fact, do I really want to respect these codes? I don’t like being told what to do. I salute those who are starred. They make our profession live at the highest level but it is an additional pressure. It’s not something I could handle.
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