What were your favorite foods growing up?
Traditional French dishes and home cooking. The warmth and homey feeling I get from traditional French cuisine brings me back to my childhood even now.

When did you decide you wanted to be a chef?
I should say at a very early age but the decision to take the plunge and actually go to cooking school came a bit late. It's a big decision for a young student to remain an amateur chef and cook for fun all your life or decide to become a chef and spend your life cooking for others.

Where and when did your career in food begin?
At a very early age, sitting on the counter at home watching my mother cook traditional French dishes.

If you didn't become a chef, what would you be?
I was a med student so I guess I would have continued in that field and become a doctor.

Who/what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
Who: David Bouley of New York City. What: Eating out

How did you go from France to the U.S. to Bali? What inspired you in those places?
These are two big questions in one! I was originally born in the US and my parents first moved to France when I was 2. Then I returned to the US for college, went back to France to train as a chef, then back to the US to further my career then to Bali to discover the secrets of Asian ingredients, then back to the US for my career and yet again back to Bali to build a family. As for what inspired me I would say ingredients and the local cuisine. This is always what influences me the most.

How would you describe your cuisine?
Modern Balinese Cuisine du march (market cuisine), where based on the ingredients in season in my environment, I apply the cooking techniques that I know and the flavors that I like (my palate!). Mozaic's cuisine is Modern French Cuisine using Indonesian ingredient and flavors prepared and presented in a gastronomic style.

What influences your cooking style and particularly the menu at your restaurant?
The menu is a reflection of my environment, my techniques, my palate, my eyes, my likes and dislikes, etc...inspiration comes from the products which arrive daily at Mozaic, my walks through the night markets, my trips through the wilderness of Bali or just from eating out at local eateries where Indonesian flavors are most genuine -- mostly, my inspiration comes from Bali's best and freshest ingredients.

On an international level I very much love the cuisines of creative chefs such as Pascal Barbot of L'Astrance in France. At Mozaic we have had several top guests chefs and working with them has also inspired me a lot. Emile Jung is one of them and I'm also excited about cooking with young chefs like Justin North coming to Mozaic shortly.

What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
Fire and steel.

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
I have no secret ingredients. All of the ingredients I use are out there for anyone to use as well.

What is the one rule or value you try to instill in all of your staff?
High standards of service. Not only our guests pay good money for the Mozaic experience but they deserve the best. It's not only about food quality but it goes all the way to the service, a smile, a dish well explained, a table thoroughly cleared.

What qualities to you look for when hiring cooks for your restaurant?
Curiosity. If they are curious to learn and to try to taste, they will understand me and my cuisine better.

If I'm trying to watch my weight and I'm eating at your restaurant, what am I ordering to eat?
You're not ordering, you let me send you dishes and you will never notice that you're eating healthier than others. It will not be a punishment and you will not miss on anything...except for maybe the special creamy mash potatoes.

What was the most challenging meal you had to make? Why?
Dinners for the World Gourmet Summit in Singapore. It was a difficult one because I did not have enough help, was working with a very small team of guys who did not know my cuisine, not enough hands and in a very small space.

What was your worst restaurant disaster?
I personally have never had a disaster in my restaurant. However if you are referring to my eating out at a restaurant which was a disaster then I would refrain from answering as -- out of respect for my fellow workers -- I would not name any such place.

What is your favorite menu item at Mozaic? Why?
In truth, I find new ingredients all the time and I cannot say which menu items is my menu and become enchanted by those new tastes constantly. Our IT guy once came to me with miniature mangoes which only grow in his village, we had a blast using those in the kitchen...it's about discovery, trials and errors, curiosity, refinement of taste, it's the joy of marrying tastes...

What is your least favorite food?
Haven't tried it yet!

What is your beverage of choice?
Water

What are some recent dining and culinary trends you have been observing?
I do not observe trends or dining experiences. I only live them like all of us. Personally I do not think that I have seen anything new in the last few years. Molecular cuisine and what I call experimental cuisine were the last things that I saw but that has been around for quite a while now.

When you are not eating at your own restaurant, where are you eating?
I'm eating in street eateries and at home for my wife's cooking. Indonesian street food is a delight for me and a great source of inspiration.

What was the most spectacular meal you have ever had?
There were too many to list.

What is your best cooking tip for a home enthusiast?
Keep it simple. Focus on the quality of the ingredients and use simple techniques which enhance the ingredients.

What do you eat when you are home?
My wife's cooking.