When Lebanese chef Alan Geaam first arrived in Paris twenty years ago, he slept on the streets, lost and without money, and could barely pronounce a word of French.
Geaam, who started his career as a dishwasher and at that time slept in Parisian parks, received his first Michelin star for his new restaurant this week.
– I never thought Michelin would be interested in someone self-taught like me. I had to sleep on the street at 19 and started as a dishwasher, he told AFP.
From the Lebanese Army, through Parisian parks, to a Michelin star
– I thought this only happened to head chefs in big hotels or those trained by great masters, but it turned out to be the opposite. This is a wonderful surprise, said the 43-year-old who was born in Liberia, with parents of Lebanese descent. They exchanged one war zone for another when they returned to Beirut.
Geaam’s fascination with food was evident. Since childhood, he watched cooking shows on television instead of cartoons. He began cooking during his time in the army in Lebanon, and the colonel of his battalion was so impressed that he appointed him his personal chef. Geaam never thought he would cook in France, but he got the opportunity when a chef at the restaurant where he washed dishes got injured, writes france24.
“But you know how to cook!”
– I worked during the day as a construction worker, and at night I delivered pizzas and washed dishes. One evening when the chef injured his hand, cutting himself on a knife and had to rush to the hospital, no one asked me, I just took over his job. There were 14 tables busy, and I served all the guests. By the end of dinner, they were thrilled. The owner told me: “But you know how to cook!” I said: “Yes.”
Since Geaam received his Michelin star on Monday evening, the phone at his restaurant has not stopped ringing. He said that his small team of highly talented chefs, whose resumes he admits look far more impressive than his, feels great because something very significant has happened in their lives. The reason he cooks is simple – he wants people to be happy, says Geaam, who worked with his father in a grocery store at the age of ten and already felt he had a sense for business, while his mother “taught him how to love people and how to cook.”
– You can criticize the Michelin guide, but I can tell you that its impact is truly significant, and the star certainly adds importance. Within a few hours, the restaurant was booked for three weeks in advance. That is success, he said. Geaam dedicated his success to his parents who “lost everything.”
