Reflections of a bad boy chef

Marco Pierre White, 46, the blue-collar cook from England's gritty northern city of Leeds, was the youngest chef ever to win three Michelin stars. Once boss to Mario Batali, Gordon Ramsay , and many other notable British cooks, White is a shaggy haired, chain smoking, espresso pounding, cleaver swinging, ambidextrous, possessed chef. He is notorious for "snogging" with pretty women at his restaurant, booting out customers he considers ungrateful and obnoxious, even scrapping with the worst of them.

When he was 38 years old, the London-based White retired from the kitchen and now oversees more than 20 restaurants, including Frankie's and Luciano . His memoir, "The Devil In The Kitchen: Sex, Pain, Madness, and the Making of a Great Chef," has just been published. We spoke from his hotel room in San Francisco, where he was on tour.

Q Early in your career you discovered "Ma Gastronomie" by Fernand Point, the late 20th -century French chef. You mentioned a quote of his: "Perfection is a lot of little things done well." You say that it became your philosophy.

A It's true. Perfection is about discipline. If you have discipline, consistency falls into place.

Q You began kitchen work in 1978, in the dying days of the golden age of gastronomy. What was that like?

A When I stepped into the kitchen it was the beginning of a revolution. It was still Escoffier's world but the world was changing. Classical cuisine was being lightened. In the '80s and '90s I saw the golden era. Now food is political. Chaps coming up want to make lots of money and be on TV. I say, just put your head down and work. One day you'll be recognized. If you force things they break. It has to be a long journey. There has to be sacrifice.

Q You earned one Michelin star at age 27, then two, and finally three by the time you were 34. You write that you were a man obsessed, that you had to be the best. Was it worth it?

A I have no regrets. I achieved what I wanted to achieve at a young age. I still have life left in me. But I chased something for 17 years of my life that I never really wanted. I chased those stars. I chased them hard. When I won them I realized I was being judged by people with less knowledge than me. So what was it all worth?

Q Your Italian-born mother died when you were young. In your cooking is there anything characteristically Italian, anything that rubbed off from her cooking or your early trips to Italy?

A I'm fueled by memories of my mother. The way she touched me, she was so gentle. I remember picking a daffodil and handing it to her. She said "Marco, it's beautiful but it would be even more beautiful left in the ground."

Q What about your father? He was also a chef. Did he teach you anything?

A My father was as hard as nails. He taught me discipline.

Q The French-born Albert Roux, owner of Le Gavroche, England's first Michelin-starred restaurant, complimented you on your talent, your "touch," as he called it. In the book you talk about this touch, "the way the food falls, the way the sauce pours, the way the garnish is put on the plate. Moving elegantly. . ." Can someone learn this?

A Some people just have it in their hands. Everything you do should be an extension of yourself.

Q Raymond Blanc of Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, a two-star establishment where you also worked, said that when it came to food it was Mother Nature who was the real artist and not the chef in the kitchen. Did this influence your cooking?

A We live in a world of perfection, not a world of creation. I say, have confidence and let Mother Nature show herself off. Don't cover everything in that horrible sauce called ego. Let Mother Nature be the star, be subservient to her, we'll all be blown away.

Q So the answer is to make simple food?

A Absolutely. Chefs are trying to be clever for the sake of being clever. They're trying too hard. And the problem is that the food ends up coming out cold. There's too much happening on the plate. I don't like 20 courses or even 12 courses. I get bored. Give me two great courses, let me get stuck and happy, napkin in my collar, knife and fork in my hands, but don't bore me.

Q You write that you only like to cook in the adrenaline of a commercial kitchen. Now that you're retired, do you cook at home?

A I still don't really cook at home. But I cook in the countryside; I cook game for my family. I accept that I am an obsessive, but I have replaced my obsession. I'm addicted to my children now.

Q Do you miss cooking?

A No, I've filled my life with so much more. Hunting and fishing with my son, inspiring young chefs. I'm a teacher now. I'm interested in what people see. Geniuses look at life through the eyes of a child. They all have it in common. Why don't we look at food the same way? Why don't we see that Mother Nature is the true artist?

Marco Pierre White will be at No. 9 Park restaurant on May 22. A five-course menu with wines, plus a copy of his book, taxes and gratuities, costs $235. Call 617-742-9991.