Chef Yves Terrian Interview: Insights from the Master Chef

Interview with Chef Yves Terrian

Chef Terrian came to us via Ilene Polansky, the owner of Maestro S.V.P., a Montreal, Quebec restaurant that specializes in oysters from all over the world.

According to Ilene, her restaurant has been somewhat hectic this summer including working through June without a day off, 16 hour work days, setting up a new outdoor dining room and hosting an oyster bar for the Quebec Shucking Champion.

Maybe she will send us some photos of the participants in action. Ilene passed on my questions to Chef Terrian and here is what he said. Enjoy!

Did you cook growing up?

My first contact with a kitchen was at the age of 17. My mother was a cook and therefore I always had to help in the kitchen.So the basics I got down pat.

What made you decide you would become a professional cook?

My father bought a restaurant and all my brothers were naturally included as kitchen staff and dishwashers, which is where I started.

Where were you trained and how difficult was your training?

My training came from my family and I took a great interest to read on cooking and all about food. The training proved to be harder I think than school because I was working for my parents, and my father's motto was THE SHOW MUST GO ON, so we always had to be there and it was quite hard to let him down.

Would you do it again?

Yes, it was a great training base to forget about our personal problems and work together as a team, which is how I direct my kitchen today. Everyone is important down to the dishwasher or the garde manger.

Best piece of advice you would give a home enthusiast?

I always let my kitchen staff bring on new ideas which also inspires me even though it is not what I am looking for at the time. Always try new things and don't give up. Learn the basics, listen learn and watch.

Funniest kitchen incident?

It happened before Maestro S.V.P. where we were working on a very elegant buffet . We had a piece of salmon that was to be put on the table but when you cook salmon to keep its form you must put a cloth in the cavity. Well that cloth became part of the stuffing for the salmon at serving time. We had all forgotten to take it out . Quite a mistake, now I can laugh at it.

Or this incident that did happen at Maestro S.V.P. where a new waiter came into the kitchen with a empty bowl of discarded mussels shells from a customers table and accidentally but it on the pass...and the next waiter picked up that plate put a piece of lemon in it and a spoon and delivered it to the table.

Well that customer was not to happy complaining that all his mussels were empty and I could not believe it till I put two and two together and realized what had happened.

Favorite food to cook with?

I love to cook with fish and I have the opportunity at Maestro because we are a seafood restaurant. Fish has so much flavor and the creations that I can do are endless. I also love to work with fish because it is a fresh product.