Alan Geaam - BOC Chronicles
Over 20 years ago in March of 1999, Alan Geaam arrived to Paris from Lebanon with just a 7-day visa, a small bag, and 200 francs in his pocket, the equivalent of 30 euros. Left without a place to sleep, he took his first night's rest under the calming presence of the Eiffel Tower.
Meet Alan Geaam, the only Michelin star-earning professional Lebanese chef. A champion of reducing food waste, an environmentalist, quite the boxer, and a visionary in the kitchen, he has allowed his life to shape every aspect of who he is today. Someone whom he is rightfully proud of becoming.
If there was anyone we could wish to learn more from – no matter the topic – this
man definitely fits that profile. Read the exclusive interview with BOC in full and
prepare to change your perspective on a few things.
Food waste is one of the biggest costs for any restaurant and for the planet since it accounts for greenhouse gas emissions.
How are you working toward reducing restaurant waste and specifically organic waste? Are leftovers being dispatched to fight hunger?
Food waste is the most delicate topic in the catering business. For the past 5 years, we’ve created associations and collaborated with several chefs to counter that. It is mainly about communicating to the team and the employees the importance of not throwing away anything in the kitchen. For instance, carrot peels can be infused in water or made into vinegar. They can also be dried to make carrot powder. It is crucial to communicate with the entire team; you don’t work alone anymore. I am the ambassador of an association called “Up Up Food” whose work focuses on people in need, be it students or the homeless, serving them free meals after closing time. 5 years ago, it was a just a few of us. We are almost a hundred now. Talking about this particular issue is very important.
Sustainability is one of the hottest topics in recent years, with many restaurants shifting toward zero plastic and reducing carbon footprint, as well as focusing on sustainable farming and other eco-friendly methods. How are you working toward sustainability?
Have you ever thought of involving guests in the process? What about upcycling?
Plastic waste is also a very delicate topic. I am not supposed to use plastic in the star restaurant, but the outbreak of COVID-19 forced us to resort to it for take-away. It is a constant battle to reach zero plastic waste but, unfortunately, we don’t have the resources for that. Kraft, for example, and other recyclable products are limited and costly. At the star restaurant, 95% of our work does not require plastic. The COVID-19 crisis hit us hard. So many restaurants had to close. What can we do to save our business? How to keep our team? I don’t fire anyone, I keep everyone on the team. Working is like a game of football: everyone gets to play. And when it comes to achieving zero plastic waste, you have to mobilize everybody, the chefs, the customers, the restaurant owners, etc.
How did boxing and the discipline of being an athlete help you succeed in your professional career as a chef?
What are the common patterns between high-level sports and entrepreneurship?
Boxing played a major role in my life, so did my family. To have the perfect career, you need stability in your personal life and a side hobby. Boxing was a way for me to get out of the kitchen when I needed to. For 10 straight years, the only time I would leave the kitchen was to go boxing. It helped me channel my energy, relieve stress, and let go of any burden or pressure. When you reach star restaurant level and have to manage several employees, you need to find a way to decompress and become zen. The common thing between boxing and my line of work is willing to take hits without giving up, just like what happened when the Coronavirus hit. You have to learn to rise again and go forward against all odds. Losing the round doesn’t mean you lost the battle. It’s not the end, there’s more than one round. The same applies to management.
What did you learn from continuous adversity since a very young age? How did continuous forward movement help you get to where you are today?
My life is a 360-degree shift. I grew up in a poor neighborhood in Tripoli. I had to make a quantum leap. Nothing is impossible these days. My message for the youngsters is that you can make it, even if you were born in a remote village on the far end of the world. You can still make it to the capital of gastronomy. In order to achieve that, you need consistency, discipline, passion, and willpower. It takes years to fulfill your dreams. It took me 20 years of my life to do that. Lebanon is a small but extremely diverse country. It is a mix of Asian, African, and European cultures. Lebanese cooks need to get motivated.
I grew up in the souk of Tripoli, I witnessed 15 years of civil war, but I didn’t experience the October 19th revolution, nor the August 4th explosion, but I’ve had to live through a 15-year-long armed conflict. Then I went straight from Tripoli to the 16th arrondissement.
Living far from your parents, how do you represent and/or honor them in your daily life? As we know, they had a big impact on who you are today since you learned the art of business from your father and boundless generosity and empathy from your mother.
I didn’t study gastronomy, but life taught me everything. My father took me to his grocery store and told me how to deal with customers. My mother washed the dishes and prepared meals for us to eat at the end of the day. She put all her love into it. I honor my parents and feel proud of being a star chef. The star is the confirmation of a chef’s talent, not the restaurant. I wouldn’t have been the person I am today without my parents.
Getting to where you are today without going to a culinary school is an inspiration to many. What is your biggest take on being self-taught and how did you assume it?
What can you say to our readers about transforming weaknesses into strengths?
To fulfill your dreams, you need to take your time and be very patient. I constantly push myself to do better and I still have the same appetite and determination as when I was 21. I chose to live exactly like the French, to take in their culture and understand their palate. French cuisine is complex, after all. I took my time and developed my own culinary identity, then I understood that I had the right to my own style of cooking, even if I come from a poor neighborhood in Lebanon. I left my country when I was 21, but Lebanon has a special place in my heart, in my dishes. I think about it everyday. To all the young cooks out there, do what you wish to do, but never copy anyone. Don’t try to replicate by watching videos on social media. My mother deserves to have 10 stars for all the emotion and love she put into her dishes. Childhood memories are what makes gastronomy.
Most restaurants work on two or three senses purposefully. Have you ever considered creating a multi-sensorial journey for your guests while involving them in a one-of-a-kind experience combining all five senses together?
We are always in search of emotions, trying to create memories and experiences that the customer will remember forever after their visit. We endeavor to make each dish a show, a work of art. It boils down to teamwork and thorough analysis. I don’t do this on my own, however: it is nice to have ideas, but you can’t do anything by yourself. All those thoughts need to be materialized, and my team and I have succeeded at doing exactly that.
Lebanon is calling all its diaspora for help. As an emblematic figure in the Lebanese culinary industry, do you have a special project for Lebanon in order to help the tourism sector get to where it once was?
I grew up in this Lebanon. In fact, it’s the only Lebanon I know: a land in constant turmoil… I help Lebanon through my cuisine in France, through the stories my dishes tell. Nowadays, many people in Lebanon are surviving thanks to a diaspora of 20 million. We know how to integrate and blend in. No other people did that so well. I travel a lot and, to me, Lebanon is a rich and magnificent country. What’s happening there today is of no surprise to me. They made us believe that Lebanon was doing better. It is sad, indeed, but that’s how it is. You have to love Lebanon for what it is. Stories can vary but this country will always be in turmoil, both politically and economically.
At BOC, we care about the story that our guests take with them and we always work on organizing special experiential events, sometimes involving remote places with live cooking. Would you be up for participating with us in a project taking place in a remote area in Lebanon?
Of course! With pleasure! It is my duty to share my experience and what I learned with the Lebanese people. I would love to use organic products and demonstrate what you can do with just a cucumber or a tomato, for example. Gastronomy comes essentially from the earth. I would be thrilled and honored to share this with people. I can’t wait!
How do you think being Lebanese shaped who you are today?
It’s deep inside of me, simple things. I left Lebanon 22 years ago. This country is my family, and I’ve experienced great things there. I am proud to be a star chef today. I am now living the French dream, but Lebanon remains my driving force. I started out as a diver, and now I am a star chef. To the young people, I say you have the right to do whatever you want in this world. I was a young child with a backpack when I left the country. I return to it 20 years later with all the pride in the world and the satisfaction to realize that I can help my homeland rise up again. I am proud to be Lebanese and I am proud to be born in Tripoli. We are a passionate, talented, ambitious, and hard-working people. All I did was cook, and I made it. Anyone can.
We know that you worked very hard on food-styling in order to earn the Michelin star because Lebanese food is sometime hard to style. What message are you trying to convey with the plating you are currently working on?
Lebanese cuisine is a woman’s cuisine, one that is based on experience, emotion, and know-how, not numbers and weights.
The world is changing. You have to accept change, to dare to fuse Lebanese cuisine with other cuisines. I hope that, 10 years from now, there will be a hundred other Lebanese star chefs. You have to climb the ladder. It takes time and patience. I did this for 18 years, other chefs give up after 6 months. The aesthetic is a crucial part of gastronomy. You eat with your eyes before your nose, and with your nose before your mouth. The art of food display is as important as gastronomy itself in France: equal importance is given to the eyes, the nose, and the palate. My art consists in taking my customers from the 16th arrondissement in Paris, to Beirut or Tripoli.
Name your best Lebanese main dish, cold appetizer, hot appetizer, and dessert.
Lamb-stuffed vine leaves, freekeh, meat dough, and fatteh. I just love these. Falafels from the souk, and pistachio mafroukeh for dessert.
Each restaurant has its own story, and each guest takes a story with them after visiting that restaurant. What are the emotions you are trying to create within your guests and what story is the main focus around them?
I earned my star thanks to simple ingredients I used, like thyme and tahina grenadine.
A little word about your new restaurant “Saj La Galette Libanaise”
My main objective is to keep my restaurants running and preserve the teams that I work with. You need to have innovative ideas, street food is trendy and easy to make. I started “Saj, La Galette Libanaise” in my office and I share my childhood memories with my customers.
