Rather, excellence is more about being positive than being a perfectionist.

This might be the biggest lesson my Year 10 French students have learnt from Chef Guillaume while they were tasting crème brûlée and profiteroles at his restaurant, Bistro Guillaume.

Another big lesson was is humility. Even though Guillaume has cooked for former President George W. Bush, Vladimir Putin, Kylie Minogue, Mel Gibson and Tom Cruise to name a few, he has learned that staying humble is key in his job.

"Je continue toujours à cuisiner et j’apprends tous les jours". "I keep cooking and learning every day," he said.

Students also wanted to hear about Paris, as Guillaume is a born and bred Parisian. He loves everything about France, from Brittany to Provence, but for him Paris 'est unique'. He told my students the city has a ‘je ne sais quoi’ which makes it special.

"Quel est votre restaurant préféré à Paris?" asked one of my students. 

"I have a lot of them", he said, "but I would recommend Bistrot Paul Bert, dans le 11e arrondissement, l’Ami Louis, a Marais bistro and Alain Passart’s 3 stars restaurant l’Arpège, which focuses on vegetables". 

"Quel est votre gâteau préféré?" was the next question. "La tarte tropézienne," said Guillaume.

This is a dessert pastry from Saint -Tropez, formed of a halved brioche filled with thick luxurious crème pâtissière and crème au beurre and topped with sucre perlé.

Students also learnt that his favourite dish is roast chicken and mashed potatoes.

So, naturally questions came about his passion for food and why he started to learn the art and skill of cooking at the age of 14.

Students learned that Guillaume developed an early passion for cooking as he had grandparents who were good cooks, and his family loved quality cuisine.

He was not enjoying school, so he chose to start an apprenticeship in hospitality and kept going with Joel Robuchon, French chef with a stellar reputation. With him as a mentor, he learnt what excellence in the kitchen looks like.

Guillaume told my students that his first achievement was 'une tarte aux pommes' for which his head chef gave him a 10 out 10.

So, he brought it to his parents to show that he was able to succeed and that school marks are not everything. It was his way of proving himself.

My students were also keen to know what he thinks of Australia.

"Living in Australia is a privilege and a unique experience, but because we are so far away from the rest of the word, it is important to travel. I am lucky enough to travel and to go to France several times a year," he said. 

"Qu’est-ce qu’un restaurant gastronomique?" asked one of my students.

"It means fine dining and fine dining means respecting the products and working with the seasons," he replied.

"Everything is important is a restaurant: welcoming the customer, the service, the setup, the musical background, the presentation of the dish."

Guillaume insisted on the fact that there is no selfish chef in hospitality because the goal is to make people happy, so generosity is the key word.

Then students went more specific asking which ingredient adds depth to a dish and surprisingly, Guillaume answered: “le sel" (salt).

"Too much ruins a dish, too little is not good. It is the reason why we need to taste the dish all the time.”

"Quel est le plat le plus compliqué à réaliser?" asked another student.

"Sometimes, the simplest dish is the most complicated one to do, but I would say the abalone without doubt. This seafood is very difficult to cook well." 

"Quelle est votre plus grande réussite?" another posed. 

"Personally, my children, but professionaly to see members of my team who have worked with me for years to thrive and open their own restaurant."

Guillaume also explained that being a chef is only a title, but it means you are the top of the restaurant. "Etre Chef, c’est dur," he said.

Being a chef is tough as we all know that it is a physical job. It’s a bit like being an athlete who always must stay at the top. Guillaume mentioned that 80 per cent of young people leave hospitality after a few years.

My students started to think of their future work experience and coming to Bistro Guillaume. "Vous serez là?" asked one of my students.

Most importantly, students started to connect more with Guillaume when the topic merged onto sports. They learned that Guillaume has a passion for rugby and that he is barracking for 'l’équipe de France de rugby', to which one of my students replied, "Allez les bleus!"

Students started to talk more and went outside of their prepared questions once football/soccer came into the conversation. They discovered that Guillaume was a fervent supporter of Arsenal and tongues were loosened. No more fear of making mistakes.

They started to feel empowered with a foreign language.

Two things I have learnt from this: speaking needs connection and relevance. That day, students had both.

It would have been easier to bring them to any old French cafe, but I wanted them to connect and get inspired with one of the most acclaimed chefs in Australia.

Don’t be afraid to have high expectations, the rest will be a breeze.