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Imagine coming home from school to a freshly baked cake followed by a seasonal three-course dinner. This was the daily routine for , a French-born chef and host of SBS Food's new show, .
It was at home in Paris where he discovered a love of food and entertaining.
"I was always trying to find ways to avoid doing my homework, so I began spending lots of time in the kitchen with my mum," Brahimi says. "By the age of 12, I knew cooking was what I was going to do."
The first recipe Brahimi learned was quatre-quarts; a classic French cake made with equal amounts of butter, flour, sugar and eggs. His mum made it every Wednesday and the rich smells gave immediate comfort, even after the hardest day at school.
While Brahimi struggled with history and math, he thrived in all activities involving food. The budding chef loved accompanying his parents on semi-weekly market trips and learning about seasonal produce from the local farmers and growers.
Guillaume Brahimi shares his trade secrets in the new show. Source: Supplied
"In Australia, we talk a lot about paddock to plate, but as a kid, that's all I knew," he says. "I never went to a big shopping centre to buy food. We just went to the market and picked what the grower brought to the table."
Brahimi shopped with the seasons, searching for white asparagus in spring or berries in summer. "You never tell a grower what you want, you let the grower tell you what's best."
You never tell a grower what you want, you let the grower tell you what's best.
He and his mum then transformed that day's produce into a seasonal feast, which the family shared for lunch or dinner. Comforting meals included her or with crispy potatoes and a simple mixed leaf salad. Fruit, or for dessert was non-negotiable.
"There's no such thing as a sandwich for lunch," he laughs. "You have the entrée, main course and dessert."
Brahimi's mother introduced him to cooking, but his father taught him the importance of quality produce. "My dad would go to this market to buy the best goat's cheese and drive another 20 minutes to buy the best feta."
Guillaume Brahimi. Source: Supplied
"That's not just my dad, it's very French," he adds. This respect extends to everything from vegetables and bread to dairy and meat, and is something the Paris-born chef does when sourcing ingredients at , his restaurant in Sydney.
"I cook a carrot the same way I cook a lobster; with passion and respect," Brahimi says. "There's a word in French, l'amour du travail bien fait - 'the love of the work well done'. If you use that as much as you can in your day-to-day, you will be a better cook."
I cook a carrot the same way I cook a lobster; with passion and respect.
The award-winning chef is proud to celebrate his favourite mouth-watering French classics on Guillaume's Paris. In fact, walking the streets of Paris with his brother reminded Brahimi of how far he's come since his first cooking apprenticeship at age 14.
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To sum up his Parisian dinner table lessons in one sentence, he says, "buy the right free-range chicken, buy the right vegetables in season with it and cook them with love. That's the only way to do it and that's the only way I know how."
