DON’T CRY FOR Ian Just.

Though he and long-time business partner Lorenzo Savona have gone their separate ways, Just says he’s more excited than ever about his role as chef — and now sole owner — of Les Zygomates Wine Bar & Bistro, open since 1994. With the help of his staff, the Paris-trained Just is keeping the place running just fine, thank you very much. He’s continuing to tweak his menu and has launched a food-demonstration series that will run with the restaurant’s popular wine-tasting events.

Q: So what happened with Lorenzo?

A: We went our separate ways. We were together seven years, and I guess it was time to move on. It’s not more complicated than that, or more simple. Seven years is a long time. That’s a long time. He’s a very talented wine guy. And very talented [at the] front of the house. I have a lot of respect for him. I think it’ll be good for both of us. We’re two strong characters.

Q: What changes do you anticipate here, now that you’re the sole owner?

A: I’ve started doing food demonstrations with the wine tastings. And people really love it. I do it out here in the private dining room with them. I’ve gotten a great response out of it. Jeffrey, who was the bar manager, is buying wine and doing all the wine-tasting, and his and my rapport is very good, and that’s been a pleasant kind of surprise. Not that we wouldn’t get along, but that he’s been so good at it.

Q: Is there anything you’re nervous about, doing this on your own? Or particularly excited about?

A: I’m rejuvenated. I’ve got lots more energy. I’m excited about all the possibilities of making decisions on my own. Yeah, there’s definitely some adrenaline moving around when you’re the only person. But I really have an unbelievable staff; to say that they have stepped up is a gross understatement. The staff has been my savior, to be honest with you. I couldn’t have done it without them, their support. They’ve just been unbelievable.

Q: What first made you think cooking was something you wanted to do?

A: I guess the first time was that I had to cook for myself when I was young. I mean, literally, that’s kind of how I started figuring out how to cook things. My mother was a legislator up in Vermont, where I’m from, and she was gone a lot of the time, and I would often come home and no one would be there, and so I often had to make myself dinner. So that’s how it started. And of course it started with peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, and eventually I tried to get something hot in there, so it was, you know, maybe toasting bread and stuff like that. And I liked to cook, and I was trying to cook more. How did I get started in the restaurant business? I guess it was more that I saw France, because I was working in South Africa for a year — I was in the Natal, and I worked for the Natal Parks Board. When I came back, they wouldn’t let me fly back to the States direct; instead I went through Paris, and I was like, "I’ve got to get back here." I was interested in learning the language, going to an American university in Paris, I mean, partying — let’s be frank. I was 18. I wasn’t even shaving yet.

Q: How long did it take you to get back to France?

A: It took me about four months. I was hanging out in Paris, going to school, having a good time, drinking a lot of beer and a lot of wine, and really yukking it up. I was traveling here and there, and making some money, and I had all this money from South Africa that I had made — couldn’t spend it anywhere [there]; I mean, how much peanut butter can you buy? So I had some dough, I was just living large, feeling good, I was young. And eventually I met this woman — who actually died last year in a freak accident — Mireille Johnston, who was a famous author of cookbooks over there. I met Mireille, and we went out to dinner and we were having a good time, and she said, "You should go to cooking school. Even if you don’t like it — who cares? Then you’ll know how to cook. It would take you a year; worse comes to worst, you know how to cook for the rest of your life." I said, "You know what? This is a good idea." So I thought about it, and I decided to do it, and [at] exactly the same school that she advised me to go to, which was the École Supérieure de Cuisine Française, and it was run by the Chamber of Commerce, so we fed all the dignitaries there.

So that’s kind of how it all got started. After my year there, I did three apprenticeships. One was during my schooling, so I was going to school from nine in the morning till four, and then I started another job from six until 12. That was an apprenticeship, and apprenticeships in France, you don’t get paid. You do them for free. So it was grueling work; did that at a two-star restaurant, Michel Comby: super, super, unbelievable restaurant. Learned a lot there. And that really propelled me way ahead of the rest of the class, because I was getting on-hand experience. After school ended, then I went to another place, a very popular bistro called Aux Charpentiers ... very, very busy restaurant. And then after that I went and worked at [the French] Les Zygomates with my good friend there in Paris.

Q: So why’d you decide to come back to the States?

A: Because my visa was running out, and they were getting aggravated. They kept sending me letters. And after a while, I was like, I’ve gotta go, or they’re going to ... I don’t know what they’ll do.

Q: How are diners’ sensibilities different in Paris than they are in Boston?

A: It gets down to the family: they grow up eating liver and all these things they can make taste good, that I never liked when I went over there; I’m like, "This is disgusting; don’t put this on my plate, please." Whereas now, it’s kind of fun to try and make something that’s considered not very expensive, make it taste good. And that’s what they do a lot there; bistro food there is things that aren’t desirable, but that they make taste really good, and it happens with a lot of things. Anywhere from gizzards to kidneys, and they do things with them, you know, poaching them in duck fat and making it a confit ... basically, some gizzard that we’d chuck out the window is something they consider a delicacy, just because they’ve poached it in duck fat, and basically you’re eating something that, if you closed your eyes, you’d think you’re eating duck confit.

Q: What is the deal with duck fat? Why do chefs think it’s so great?

A: It just tastes fabulous. It’s salty, it tastes ... good. You can poach anything in duck fat, and if you close your eyes, no one’s going to know the difference. Just roasting potatoes in duck fat — it’s like the best thing you could ever do. I mean, you’re going to have a heart attack. But if you say, "Hey, listen, life is about living for today ..." I don’t know, the French live longer than we do, so maybe it’s all the red wine.

Q: What’s the biggest flop you ever put on the menu at Les Zygomates?

A: Oh, there are so many. Jesus. This tape isn’t long enough. You’re going to need a big reel. I’ve put on a couple of vegetarian things [that flopped]. It’s hard for me, because I’m trying to make something that’s impressive — you know, you’re always trying to make something that’s impressive, you’re trying to write an article that’s impressive. And sometimes there’s no story where there isn’t one. You know what I mean? There’s no story here. So I try to put something together, and a bunch of times it’s happened with vegetarians where it’s just really hard to make something that has this flair to it, without just doing a stir-fry with nice olive oil and some beans and sprouts. So it’s really a challenge for me; I originally had no vegetarian [dishes]. Then I put one, now I have two. So I’m trying to get there. It’s a political issue every time I put something on the plate; I’m like, "I got an egg in there, I’m sorry."

Q: Is there any one dish you’re most proud of?

A: I don’t think so. I’m proud that we’ve stayed so consistent. That we’re still here. Our price point is pretty much the same. You could’ve come in five years ago and you’d see pretty much the same thing. I think that’s good. I really do. One dish? I think we make good pâté. We’ve stayed consistent with that.

Q: What’s your favorite guilty-pleasure food?

A: Hmm ... I don’t even know ... I guess sweets. Yeah, I’d say chocolate, unfortunately. But I rarely feel guilty about it!

Q: Three ingredients you can’t live without?

A: I guess really good olive oil. I love oysters, really good oysters. And wine. I can’t do anything without wine. Do you want a solid?

Q: If you’re not working, do you go out to eat?

A: I rarely go out to eat. If I do, I usually eat sushi. I go to Ginza. Summertime, I love to grill.

Q: Gas or charcoal?

A: Charcoal. Never gas.

Q: Have you ever tried to make sushi yourself?

A: No, never. They do it great; leave it to them. Why should I pretend?

Q: You, Ken Oringer, Frank McClelland, Lydia Shire, Michael Schlow, Jody Adams, Barbara Lynch in an Iron Chef competition. Who wins?

A: Well, I wouldn’t be invited to that little entourage. But if somehow I was to put on a mask and sneak in ... um ... that’s tricky. I don’t know. Do I have to answer that? Let me think about it.

Les Zygomates Wine Bar & Bistro is located at 129 South Street, in Boston. Call (617) 542-5108. Ian Just will appear at the Nantucket Wine Festival, held May 14 through 19. Call (508) 228-1128 for information. Tamara Wieder can be reached at twieder[a]phx.com