Best Plate Forward : A Tête-à-tête With Michelin Star Restaurant Owner, Chef Nick Honeyman

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Nick Honeyman, is a renowned chef who earned a Michelin star for his restaurant Le Petit Léon in France. He owns another restaurant in Auckland, Paris Butter, an amalgamation of fine dining techniques and interpretative French cuisine that has made it a fixture in Cuisine Magazine's Top 50, a favourite of diners, chefs and critics alike.

Nick is set to make his debut at the popular Le Cirque Signature at The Leela Palace, Bengaluru this week and we got a chance to get a candid conversation with the Chef here.

We were curious about his foray into cooking as a career. On being asked about it, he said that food was 'always a passion' for him. In his words, "Like every young man I arrived at a stage where I wanted to eat everything in sight and I quickly discovered the magic of ingredient pairing and how delicious different foods can be when added together. That started my fascination with food"

Interesting enough, he goes on to narrate the story of 'the red sports car' that also inspired him to be the Chef that he is today. While working as kitchen hand in a professional kitchen one day, he noticed a red sports car pulling up in the back and as soon as the one driving the car walked through the door, the commotion in the kitchen just stopped abruptly and everybody went silent waiting for the instructions. Nick realized then, it was the head chef. And the sheer power of his presence made him realize that he wanted to be that guy.

And rest as they say is history. Nick's burning passion for cooking led him to Sydney, where he enrolled in a rigorous four-year cooking school course. Completing it in under three years, he went on to sharpen his skills at some of the city's most luxurious hotels. Nick's next stop was Tokyo, landing a position at Iron Chef Sakai Hirotia's restaurant, La Rochelle, before spending a year in Paris working for two of the city's most renowned Michelin-starred chefs, Pascal Barbot at L'Astrance and Alain Passard at L'Arpège. His culinary excellence did not go unnoticed, and he was soon tapped to work under Justin North at Becasse in Sydney before making his way to New Zealand to work for Simon Wright at The French Café, the iconic fine dining restaurant. Soon after, he stepped out on his own and started Paris Butter in Auckland.

Nick said, "New Zealand has been my culinary home for almost two decades. We have seen a positive change towards sustainability, local produce - especially the native one-, and through it telling the story of our country" and that's how Paris Butter happened. He went on to launch his second restaurant Le Petit Léon, a seasonal fine dining place in France. Managing two restaurants across two continents can be a daunting task, when asked how he finds the right balance, Chef said "Food is one of those things that break through cultural diversity and connects people. In almost every culture food plays a role in connecting people and bringing families and strangers alike together. We like to embrace this and share our passion for food and wine" He makes it sound too easy to believe but it must take a lot of work in the background.

Surprisingly though Chef Nick doesn't have a particular signature dish. In his words, "Our signature is evolution. We try not to stick with anything too long, we have joy in rediscovering which keeps things fresh." A passion for food clubbed with a need to innovate and evolve, seems to be his key to winning. How else does one achieve a Michelin star indeed.

Chef Nick's debut in India, started with a DM to his social media account. Nick said, "How every modern relationship starts... with a DM. Our friend Thav (@topspinking) who is a Chef in Bangkok connected us to The Soul Company and just like that we were on our way to Bengaluru" Thanks to the social media and the connections that unfold within, Bengaluru gourmands will get a chance to sample the fine courses cooked by this culinary genius here at Le Cirque Signature at The Leela Palace, Bengaluru.

When asked about his experience with Indian cuisine, the chef was pleased to share about his love for Indian food. Nick loves chicken sagwala and anything that comes out of the tandoor and his wife Sina cooks the Indian 'daal' (pulses) at home. The couple is looking forward to trying out as much Indian food as they can while in Bengaluru.

As the Chef gears up to serve some creative dishes with vibrant, fresh flavours, the connoisseurs in the city are all looking forward to this fine dining gala on 7th and 8th Feb 2025 at Le Cirque Signature at The Leela Palace, Bengaluru.