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Nicolas 'Doudou' Tourneville: A Chef's story
It was a lively atmosphere at Metis restaurant that particular afternoon, with diners chatting and laughing over their meals
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It was a lively atmosphere at Metis restaurant that particular afternoon, with diners chatting and laughing over their meals. The dining place's founder, Nicolas Tourneville, was among his guests, looking utterly happy.
Life has been good for the French chef, who had recently celebrated the restaurant's fourth anniversary.
For the man, who is fondly called Doudou, his success was not something that came out of the blue or out of pure luck ' it was all hard work, something that came from his persistence in doing what he loved most: cooking.
The passion for cooking, he says, started from his childhood, when he was still living in a suburb of Paris. Back then, little Doudou spent his evenings doing homework in his family's kitchen, while his mother busily prepared dinner.
He said the routine started at six in the evening, recalling how captivated he was by the sizzling, the clanking of the pans, the rattle of cutlery and, most of all, the mouth-watering aroma of good cooked meals that nourished the family.
The experience later inspired him to pursue a career in cooking.
In pursuit of his dream, he went to cookery school, which he recalled as the hardest time in his life.
'I got omelet, steak and sous on my face because they weren't right,' he says.
'You make a mistake once, you don't do it twice because you don't want the steak landing on your face twice. You have to learn very fast. That's how I was taught to work ' you have to do it fast.'
After three years at the cookery school he decided to move to England for two reasons: a better salary and to learn the English language.
In the neighboring country, he challenged himself by working in different kinds of kitchens, from a private house in the countryside to a catering business to a gastronomic restaurant in central London.
At that point he had set his dream ' one day he wanted to have his own restaurant.
Armed with enough experience, he returned home to France and worked in many restaurants, including an American restaurant in Paris where he learned to make cheeseburgers from an American chef. His talent soon impressed the then French foreign minister when he served him during his military service.
Soon, he was appointed head chef at the French Embassy in Algeria and was a step closer towards reaching his dream.
He recalled that working as head chef at the embassy, whatever the prestige, was not easy. He was trusted with taking care of all the dishes at the embassy and for its guests while having to stand by in the kitchen on a daily basis. The embassy was a busy one, hosting many receptions, meetings and other events.
'That place was really, really, busy. The activity never stopped,' he recalled. 'It was a very interesting job but very demanding.'
His life took a different twist when he was moved to the French Embassy in Jakarta. The job allowed him to frequently visit Bali and he immediately found himself falling in love with the island's beauty.
During his visit to the island, he noted that Bali was getting busier each day with the arrival of big hotels, but there were not many options for dining out.
Seeing the opportunity, he thought it was time to make his dream come true.
With his business partner, Said Alem, he opened the doors to his first restaurant, Kafe Warisan. The place soon became a huge success, lauded as marking a new era in the Bali culinary scene followed by the arrival of many other fine dining places across the island.
The arrival of new fine dining places, he said, was not competition as their presence had a positive impact on Bali's food scene ' spoiling visitors with a wide range of choices for dining out.
'We lifted the standards, we raised the bar,' Doudou says. 'Thanks to them we have other choices for the palate.'
His success did not make him stop seeking new challenges. He decided to create another, fresher version of Kafe Warisan. Soon, Metis was born and is now considered one of Bali's busiest restaurants.
He may have made his dream a reality, but even after more than a decade in taking care of his restaurants, the chef still works hard, just like when he started out on his path in the culinary world.
Every day he still comes to the restaurant ' discussing the menu with his team and executive chef, checking food quality, ensuring the quality of service and most importantly, spending his time chatting with his diners.
'I'm very happy to live in Bali and work with the Balinese. It's a pleasure, [they are] always in a good mood. Its fun and they always want to learn,' he chuckled.
His homeland, France, became ever more distant from his mind, he said, adding that he thought he would die in Bali or in Bandung, West Java -- his wife's hometown.
Bali, he said, was now his home, where his family was. His mother would even join him on the island soon.
'I want to grow old here on the island. Bali is a place where my dream came true, I'll never forget that. I respect Bali and I always will,' he said. 'Now my next goal is to give a good education to my kids, but I will be here.'
