FLARING tempers, flying saute pans and heated shouts may be de rigueur in a cookhouse stewing with French machismo, but the only drama that plays out in the kitchen of Maison Pic is on the plates, which stun with their detailed presentation.

And chef-owner Anne-Sophie Pic likes it that way.

'I don't shout in the kitchen because it makes people feel pressured and they can't understand what is being said,' says the 38-year-old over the phone from Valence, southern France, where the restaurant-hotel is.

She adds: 'I want to make people feel good in the kitchen. When the cooks are happy, the diners will be happy too.'

But her ascent in the kitchen was anything but full of love and peace. Growing up in a room above the family's three-Michelin-star restaurant, she lived and breathed haute cuisine, tasting and smelling her way in and out of the kitchen as she passed by it to get to the apartment.

But Pic had no intention of following in the culinary footsteps of her grandfather, Andre - whose crayfish gratin was legendary - and father Jacques, who was known for his bass with caviar.

This mattered little to her father, who had regarded his older son, Alain, as his heir and was teaching him how to cook.

So Pic pursued a business management degree in Paris, with a study stint in Japan.

But she realised upon graduation that her real interest was in cooking. So in 1992, she joined her father and brother in the kitchen.

Three months into her apprenticeship, her father had a heart attack and died. Her brother took over the stoves and in 1995, the restaurant lost its third star.

Following a fraught partnership between the siblings, Alain left in 1998 to open his own restaurant, Les Mesanges-Alain Pic in Grenoble. Pic then stepped in to fill his shoes.

She says: 'It was very difficult for me then. I was the only woman in the kitchen and I had to really prove myself.'

Ignoring the male-chauvinistic sneers behind her back, the self-taught chef devoted herself to introducing a 'feminine' sensibility to classic French food.

She says: 'I go for lighter flavours, in the sauces for example, and I pay more attention to presentation and colour on a plate. I don't use a certain cooking technique to show off my know-how, but to enhance the taste of a dish.'

Her innovative approach paid off when the restaurant regained its third star last year.

On the recognition, the chef, who specialises in seafood, says with a laugh: 'I found a little more serenity. I'd shown others that I could be a woman and run a kitchen.'

Since then, the restaurant phone has been ringing off the hook and weekend reservations must be made some four months in advance.

Despite the bustle, she agreed to participate at the summit because Mr Peter Knipp, founder of Peter Knipp Holdings which organises the summit, 'is well-known in France'.

She is also eager to return to Singapore - 'I like the atmosphere there very much' - after having visited the city when she was a student.

While she has yet to firm up the menu for the summit dinner, she says it will feature Maison Pic's signature dishes.

She will also be opening a cooking school on April 8.

The school, a two-minute walk from the restaurant-hotel, is spurred by a demand from a growing number of home cooks. It will be helmed by a former cook at the restaurant and chef Pic will conduct classes there once a month.

Next year, she will be launching a new restaurant in Europe although the location has yet to be decided.

She brushes aside the suggestion that she is stretching herself too thin with these multiple projects. 'I have teams of helpers working on these projects so that I can focus on cooking and coming up with new dishes.

'Besides, I'm almost 40 and there's no better time for the business to expand.'

Her husband, David Sinapian, whom she met in university, manages the business side of things and they have a two-year-old son, Nathan.

When asked if motherhood has made it more challenging for her to stay on top of her game, she demurs: 'Because I make time for my baby, I have a better work-life balance. I am more relaxed and more creative.'

Chef Pic will cook a dinner on April 25 at the Grand Hyatt. Tickets are at $728 per person. She will also hold a culinary masterclass on April 26 at the Singapore Tourism Board Auditorium. Tickets are at $88 per person. For reservations to both events, call 6270-1254.

This article was first published in The Sunday Times on Mar 16, 2008.