Alleno is the head chef at the three Michelin-starred restaurant Le Meurice in Paris. He also looks after a number of other restaurants, notably STAY by Yannick Alleno at the One&Only The Palm in Dubai. Here he offers a few culinary insights... <b>I first knew that I wanted to be a chef....</b> at just eight years old. I went to work in my cousin's restaurant and I felt good in that environment. When I was 15, my father arranged for me to work at Manuel Martinez's two Michelin-starred restaurant for two months. It was a great experience, but really, really hard. <b>The dish that I am most proud of is...</b> the next one that I invent. Cooking is all about evolution and new dishes take you in a different direction, they create a new basis to work from. Creativity is important. <b>When I'm at home, I like to cook...</b> really quite simply. On a Sunday evening, I can't think of anything better than a perfectly roasted chicken with a green salad. I also always make sure I have eggs in the fridge; you can do so much with them. <b>The advice that I would give to a home cook is... </b> when you're cooking for other people, don't try to do too much. If you get stressed out, you'll make mistakes. Keep it simple. <b>My favourite restaurant is...</b> Pierre Gagnaire's in Paris and a Japanese place called Zen. <b>One of my proudest achievements was...</b> the publication of <i> Le Terroir Parisien</i> ; it took a lot of work and I think that it represents a real concentration of what I am. <b>For my last meal, I would eat...</b> a selection of seafood to start, followed by eggs en cocotte with truffles and then a thin, crunchy lemon and praline roll, filled with mousse and served with ice cream, a few slices of truffle and a tiny dusting of salt.