Alain Ducasse with Adour DC Chef Julien Jouhannaud (left) and wine director Ramon Narvaez (right). (Josh Novikoff).

France’s world-renowned Alain Ducasse was in town to re-launch the menu of his restaurant, Adour DC at the St. Regis. The hotel is now sans scaffolding, and the restaurant has made a few tweaks to make its menu more accessible. A handful of plates can now be ordered as half portions, including a deep red tuna tartare appetizer and a scallop entrée served with herb gratinated vongoles, like perfect baby buttons of clams casino. Cuts of meat such as a Flintstonian bone-in ribeye for two or a bargain priced hanger steak are on offer, with a spiced up spaghetti squash. And for dessert, we’d go with the silky hazelnut soufflé or anything else that comes with sorbets that embody the essence of their fruits.

Ducasse is an international culinary luminary who was awarded three Michelin stars by his 33rd birthday. Now he has an eponymous enterprise with oh, about two dozen or so unique restaurants to his name, a publishing house, a professional training program, an academy in Paris for non-professionals, and plans to work with the Clinton Global Initiative to train disenfranchised women. The man is a veritable figurehead of French cooking. He’s in charge of food service on the Eiffel Tower for goodness sake!

DCist sat down with Ducasse, Adour’s Executive Chef Julien Jouhannaud, and a translator to understand the life of a jet-setting legend and his relationship with his restaurants, and what makes him tick.

Can you talk about what it’s like to head an international restaurant empire?
It’s not an empire, I’m just sort of a craftsman—an artisan—because each restaurant is different, like a little atelier in itself. Yes. It’s the same idea because each restaurant develops our personality with a chef, management, with a sommelier. The idea is to understand perfectly, step-by-step the city where we are, to develop the place in harmony with customers, with Washingtonians in this case.