Piège took the honor to introduce authentic French cuisine, which has been listed as an intangible cultural treasure by the United Nations’ cultural organization, UNESCO.

“What characterizes French gastronomy are the rites, the presentation and the flavor, and the most important element is the [choice of] ingredients,” he said in an interview on Sunday.

The chef created a multi-course dinner served later that evening at a gala attended by French diplomats, nationals and Indonesian-French alumni. He had brought all the ingredients from home.

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Piège served baked celery flowers mixed with vanilla grass and tangy sauce with a squish of Bergamot orange, Brittany lobster cooked in Mijoté Moderne combined with marinated mussels and herbs, grilled chicken from the Cour d’Armoise farm and served with Morchella mushrooms and rice as well as grilled chocolate on a tarte with ice cream as dessert.

“I don’t need to make any adjustments to suit Indonesian taste buds, because Indonesian cuisine, after all, has also adopted a wide range of flavors.”

The 46-year-old chef has been awarded two Michelin stars in 2011 for his restaurant that bears his name, and he has been named “Chef of the Year” by critics every year since 2005. He has also authored books on French cuisine.

He preferred home-cooked meals, such as gratin or grilled chicken, to eat with family members, “because good company makes food taste the best,” the chef said, adding that he didn’t believe in using any secret ingredient to enhance the flavor.

“I just use salt. The combination of flavors from the ingredients used to make a single dish is the whole point of creating authentic French flavor.”

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As a special guest at the gala dinner, Catherine Deneuve underlined the rich cultures of Indonesia in art, fashion, textiles and even architecture.

“I would visit museums during my stay,” she said about her second visit to the country.

Deneuve, 73, a sought-after actress in both art-house and mainstream films, said she would love to work with Indonesian filmmakers.

“[Working abroad] is the best way to really learn about people of different countries,” she said, citing her experience of staying in Vietnam while filming the 1992 movie Indochine with director Régis Wargnier. “It’s quite an incredible experience, much more so than if you arrive at a hotel and feel like a tourist.”

With a career of nearly six decades, Deneuve, who received the Lumière Prize last year for her lifetime dedication to the industry, said she consistently perceived the narration and the characters as the main factors to consider in a film project.

While working in Hollywood movies is near impossible for a French-speaking actress, according to Deneuve, she said she would soon start a project with renowned French director André Téchiné.

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“I’ve done six or seven films [with the director], which are all very important to me. And actually, I’m going to do a film with him next year,” said Deneuve, who first collaborated with the director for Hôtel des Amériques in 1981. Then, what would be her greatest achievement so far?

“I don’t like the word achievement. It’s something said by other people or journalists when they give you an award, or after some time you’ve been in the industry,” she said. “Achievement for me means finished. And I’m not there yet.”

With that, she shared her lifetime motto for young people aspiring to make it big in the film or fashion industry:

“Follow your instinct. That’s what I do.”

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