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The Five Commandments Of *Haute Cuisine* By The Most Decorated Chef In The World

Alain Ducasse's secret recipe for success
Alain Ducasse's secret recipe for success
Dorane Vignando

SAINT-TROPEZ – Star, entrepreneur, chef, and the most decorated cook in the world, Alain Ducasse always has a place to be. He’s perpetually traveling around the world from one of his restaurants to another: from Paris to Tokyo, from Abu Dhabi to Las Vegas, he’s always curious to see where the flavors will take him.

We met him last week in Saint-Tropez for the opening of his brand-spanking new restaurant Rivea (replacing Spoon, which had previously occupied the space) inside the glamorous and iconic hotel, Le Byblos.

With décor by Italian duo Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel and a new menu, inspirations have been drawn from both land and sea. The myriad of antipasti includes Italian salumi products, reef octopus, candied sardines, small pizzas know as pizzette, and prosciutto from Massimo "The Culatello King" Spigaroli himself -- now, how about that?!

Thirty thriving restaurants later and Ducasse reveals to us five of his secrets to success:

Hospitality
“Hospitality is an art. You can only reach perfection if you shape the premises in your own image. Nothing comes close to those country inns that are also people’s homes. You will never forget your stay.”

Nature
“It’s an infinite source of inspiration for a cook. The only source, really. I’m forever bedazzled by it. Everything pleases me, from the color of an eggplant to the shimmering scales of a red mullet.”

Bare essentials
“Take away what isn’t necessary. Too many ingredients will confuse the flavors. Too many items on the table, too much ceremony… Keep it to the basics: true taste, true texture, true color.”

Rightness
“The right technique. The right cooking time. The right seasoning. Being right comes gradually, from great discipline and lots of practice. Maybe that’s what the artists are all after. For a cook, at any rate, it’s a constant obsession.”

Sharing
Sharing is enriching. Don't keep anything just for yourself. The time for secret recipes and personal tricks has been over for a long time. I share everything I know and I expect everyone in my team to do the same.”

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Society

Mapping The Patriarchy: Where Nine Out Of 10 Streets Are Named After Men

The Mapping Diversity platform examined maps of 30 cities across 17 European countries, finding that women are severely underrepresented in the group of those who name streets and squares. The one (unsurprising) exception: The Virgin Mary.

Photo of Via della Madonna dei Monti in Rome, Italy.

Via della Madonna dei Monti in Rome, Italy.

Eugenia Nicolosi

ROME — The culture at the root of violence and discrimination against women is not taught in school, but is perpetuated day after day in the world around us: from commercial to cultural products, from advertising to toys. Even the public spaces we pass through every day, for example, are almost exclusively dedicated to men: war heroes, composers, scientists and poets are everywhere, a constant reminder of the value society gives them.

For the past few years, the study of urban planning has been intertwined with that of feminist toponymy — the study of the importance of names, and how and why we name things.

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