Homeless Lebanese dishwasher becomes Michelin-starred chef

When Lebanese chef Alan Geaam first arrived in Paris two decades ago he found himself sleeping on the streets, lost and penniless, with hardly a word of French.

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This week Geaam, who began his career as a dishwasher while he was sleeping rough in a Paris park, received his first Michelin star from the French gastronomic bible for his acclaimed new restaurant within a stone’s throw of the Arc de Triomphe.

“I never thought the Michelin would be interested in someone like me, who was self-taught, who had to sleep in the street at 19 and who began as a dishwasher,” he told AFP.

“I thought the guide was about chefs in big fancy hotels or those trained by the great masters. But it turned out to be the opposite. It’s a wonderful surprise,” said the 43-year-old, who was born to Lebanese parents in Liberia, before they exchanged one war zone for another by returning to Beirut.

By then Geaam’s fascination with food was clear as he watched cookery shows on television rather than cartoons after school.

He started cooking while doing his national service in Lebanon and the colonel of his regiment was so impressed he made him his personal chef.

But Geaam never thought he would be able to cut the mustard in France, and only got his break when the chef of the restaurant where he was washing the dishes was rushed to hospital when he slashed his hand with a knife.

“I worked during the day as a construction worker and at night delivering pizzas and washing dishes. One night, the cook cut his hand and had to go to hospital. No one asked me, but I just took over.

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There were 14 tables and so I just fed the customers and at the end of the night, they were delighted. “The owner said to me, ‘But you can cook!’ and I said, ‘Yes.'”

“The reason I cook is to make people happy,” said Geaam. And he has certainly spread joy among restaurant critics with Michelin’s rival Gault Millau guide raving about his langoustines and chard and its dark chocolate-colored sauce tinged with Vietnamese cardamom.