The Path to Becoming a Chef
As a child in southwest France, Alain watched in wonder as his
grandmother turned humble provincial ingredients into exceptional meals,
learning from the way she handled her copper pots and seasoned every
dish. Cooking ran in the family — his great-great-grandmother is said to
have cooked for Napoleon's army.
By 15 he knew exactly what he wanted, and he served his chef's
apprenticeship in Bordeaux. At 20 he boarded a ship for Australia with
little more than loose change in his pocket, working his way through
kitchens before the country — and one ingredient in particular — became
his life's work.
Cooking was his calling.
Culinary Distinctions
Good food is not about feeding people. It's about finding a way to give pleasure. To see the smile on people’s faces when they see the dish arriving in front of them. Alain believes good food should engage all the senses.
First, the presentation.
Then, the aroma.
Finally, when the flavours come together perfectly, diners pause in appreciation. This is the sign of a dish done right.
In 1991 he earned the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) title, the highest honour attainable by a craftsman in France and one very few ever achieve.
His contribution to French culture through cuisine was recognised twice by the French Republic: he was made a Chevalier du Mérite Agricole by President François Mitterrand in 1994, and a Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite by President Jacques Chirac in 2004 — a rare distinction of being knighted twice.
Truffle Expertise
The scent of the truffle is special. Once you smell a truffle, it goes straight into your memory bank. Few ingredients hold as much allure as truffles, with their deep aroma, rich flavour, and ability to transform a dish have fascinated chefs for centuries.
Alain's connection to them runs deep. He grew up in southwest France where truffles grow wild, and always dreamed of cooking with them. In Western Australia he became one of the most influential champions of the local product, founding the Mundaring Truffle Festival in 2006 — an event that, at its height, drew tens of thousands of visitors and helped put Australian black truffle on the map. When fresh Australian Tuber melanosporum came within reach, it changed the way he cooked entirely.
His professional journey continued under the guidance of Jean Delaveyne, a respected French Master Chef whose lifelong quest to preserve the French Black Truffle would later inspire Alain’s own groundbreaking work.
A world-first method for preserving the Tuber Melanosporum truffle.
The black Périgord truffle is one of the world's rarest and most fragile ingredients, with a harvest window of just weeks. Inspired by his mentor — who spent some 50 years chasing the same goal — Alain finally cracked it.
His innovative recipe uses complementary natural ingredients and specialised canning techniques to protect both the critical flavour notes and the unique texture of the truffle, with no artificial flavours or aromas. The result is an all-natural, all-Australian preserve that keeps its signature aroma and flavour year-round, opening new possibilities for chefs and food lovers alike.
Creativity Beyond Cooking
While cooking remains his primary creative outlet, Alain also expresses himself through other artistic mediums.
An accomplished painter and sculptor, he often sketches a dish before he cooks it, blending visual artistry with gastronomy — work that illustrates several cookbooks.
His own book, Degustation: A Master Chef's Life Through Menus (UWA Publishing, 2010), a 384-page hardback, was judged Australia's best cookbook of the year. Part memoir, part culinary philosophy and part technical masterclass, several of its degustation menus are built entirely around truffles.
Chef Ambassador Extraordinaire
Today, Chef Alain continues to share his passion and expertise as our official ambassador. In this role he develops signature recipes and leads masterclasses for chefs around the country.
The preserved truffles he created for us are his own work, and he is helping shape a range of new products in development. By teaching and demonstrating his techniques firsthand, he carries on a lifelong mission of refining culinary techniques while inspiring a new generation of food professionals with his uncompromising standards and innovative techniques.
The Loose Box
In 1979, Alain and his then-wife Lizzie took on a tumbledown former stable in Mundaring, in the hills east of Perth. They named it The Loose Box. Over the next 34 years he turned it into arguably the finest classical French restaurant in the country — twice voted Best Restaurant in Australia and drawing diners from every state.
He was named Chef of the Year so many times he was eventually barred from re-entering, and personally took the Salon Culinaire Gold Medal for nine consecutive years, from 1980 to 1989. When The Loose Box closed in July 2013, it held a two-star rating in The West Australian Good Food Guide and left a lasting mark on the Perth hospitality industry.
