Top Chef 2016 Winner CHEF. Xavier Pincemin
Chef. Xavier Pincemin
Q. Hello, Chef Xavier Pincemin.
It’s a pleasure to meet you.
Could you briefly introduce yourself?
Hello, I’m Xavier Pincemin.
I’m the winner of the French TV show Top Chef 2016,
and I also share cooking content on TikTok,
where I have about 2.5 million followers.
Currently, I run two restaurants in Versailles.
Q. Wow, a Top Chef winner—congratulations,
even if it’s a bit late!
I’ve prepared ten fun questions for you today.
Are you ready to answer them quickly?
Yes, I’m ready. Let’s go.
Q. First question.
If I could taste your blood, what would it taste like?
Sweet, I think—because I have a real sweet tooth.
I eat a lot of pastries, and I love candies and gummies.
I also like soda.
But it would be a healthy sweetness, because I work out a lot.
So it would be sweet, but in a healthy way.
Q. Haha, perfect.
Second question: Is there a dish
that made you fall in love with cooking?
Yes—sole meunière, a classic French dish.
You lightly coat the sole in flour, then cook it
in a pan with plenty of butter until it gets a beautiful color,
and finish it with a squeeze of lemon juice.
It’s absolutely delicious. It’s my favorite dish.
I first tasted it as a child at a brasserie
in Paris and fell in love instantly.
When I was 14, I started working in restaurants
and began cooking it myself.
I truly love this dish.
Q. You’re making me want to try it right now.
Next time you come to our restaurant, I’ll make it for you.
It’s really delicious.
Q. Third question.
If God suddenly offered you any dish you
wanted right now, what would you order?
If I had to choose just one dish,
I’d order grilled lobster barbecue-style,
served with a butter sauce reduced with cognac,
a sweet lobster bisque on the side, and finished with lime zest.
Q. That sounds incredible.
Fourth question:
If you had to eat only one type of food
every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Pasta.
If I had to eat it every single day,
I’d choose pasta—truffle pasta.
Real fresh truffles, not just truffle flavor.
I absolutely love truffles.
Q. Haha, me too.
So, fifth question:
If love were a dish, what would it be?
Hmm… that’s a difficult question.
Love… I think it would be beef carpaccio.
Because beef carpaccio is tender, fresh,
something you want to eat every day—
and it has a bit of blood to it, you know what I mean?
It’s very raw and honest. Love is like that.
You need the right seasoning, a bit of punch.
Love is about balance—
being slightly shaken but staying in harmony.
That’s love.
Q. That’s such a beautiful answer.
Sixth question: Since we’re talking about love—
Imagine you have a date tomorrow night
with your dream partner.
What would you cook to make her fall in love?
Haha. I would cook all the dishes I love.
I’d want her to experience everything I love to eat.
Fresh ceviche, grilled fish, incredibly
tender steak—I’d find some Wagyu.
I’d make Italian-style pasta and mini ravioli with a citrus sauce,
something very fresh and light.
But nothing too messy or heavy—
no food that makes your hands dirty
or leaves you feeling bloated.
I’d present everything beautifully, in a refined gastronomic style.
Q. Just imagining it already makes me jealous.
Seventh question: Let’s imagine something else.
You’re given a chance to use a time machine.
You travel back in time and meet your younger self—
little Xavier, going through the saddest, hardest period of his life.
What dish would you cook for him to give him new energy and hope?
If I met little Xavier during that difficult time…
Wow, that’s a very hard question too.
I’d want to give him something healthy but incredibly delicious.
Ah—I’d make ravioli filled with lobster, langoustine, and salmon.
I’d serve it with a champagne sauce, lemon chutney,
and add a little bit of caviar on top.
And I’d say, “Here, taste this. Life is beautiful.”
Q. Haha, so life really is beautiful.
Eighth question:
If you had to marry one cooking ingredient,
what would it be?
Without hesitation—lobster. I really love it.
But if I think about an ingredient I use every single day…
It would probably be butter.
I put butter in almost everything I cook at home.
Now that I think about it, yes—
I should probably marry butter.
Q. Haha. Ninth question:
If the world were ending tomorrow,
what would you eat for dinner tonight?
If we were all going to die tomorrow,
what would be your last meal?
Wow, these questions are all so difficult.
I think I’d want to cook something
everyone could share together.
It would depend on the season…
when is the world ending?
Let’s say tomorrow.
Honestly, if I heard the news,
I probably wouldn’t feel very hungry.
But still—I’d make a huge paella.
A massive one, with chicken, seafood, everything.
And we’d eat it with our hands—going back to our roots.
Ending with Spanish food feels right.
Q. We’ve really traveled through cuisines
from all over the world.
Now the final question—
I feel like I already know the answer, but I’ll ask anyway.
If you were a dish, what would you be?
And not chicken.
Haha, I think I’d be pizza.
Crispy, big, and loved by everyone—from kids to adults.
It’s visually beautiful, too.
And depending on the toppings,
it can taste completely different every time.
Oh, and specifically—Neapolitan pizza. Thin and delicate.
Q. Haha, thank you, Mr. Pizza, loved by everyone.
So you’re a pizza married to butter. Oops.
Q. Thank you so much for taking
part in this interview, Chef.