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Chef Michel Guérard dies aged 91
French chef and cookbook author Michel Guérard, one of the pioneers behind the nouvelle cuisine movement, died on Sunday night at the age of 91.
Over the course of a seven decade career, Guérard opened numerous restaurants whcih received countless accolades.
His most famous eatery was Les Prés d’Eugénie in Gascony, which has held three Michelin Stars since 1977, with the guide noting: “In the dishes, we find all the DNA of chef Guérard: the workings of cuisine naturaliste, of course, an omnipresent lightness, and the ability to successfully marry the most diverse flavours, like a conductor guiding an orchestra.”
Indeed, beyond the buildings and the books, Guérard’s greatest legacy is his role as one of the “founding fathers” of nouvelle cuisine – a style of cooking characterised by lightness and freshness over heavy and rich dishes.
In an interview with Explore France published in January 2023, Guérard cited “la simplicité est l’habit de la perfection,” or “simplicity is perfection in disguise” as one of his “favourite” proverbs.
“My kitchen brigade and I prepare each dish as we would a piece of music, making it light, lively, airy, smooth and silky.”
However, traditional recipes still mattered to Guérard, hence why his first restaurant, opened in Paris in 1965, was called Le Pot au Feu.
“Tradition, in the sense of savoir-faire, plays an important role,” he continued. “It’s essential to master the techniques and the ideas that come with tradition, to in turn be able to surpass, reinvent or challenge them. This is what we did in the 1960s, with Paul Bocuse, Roger Vergé and the Troisgros brothers, with the movement that was eventually named nouvelle cuisine.”
Guérard died as the oldest chef in France to have a restaurant which held three Michelin Stars.
Among the chefs to pay tribute was Mark Sargeant, who said of Guérard: “They quite literally don’t make chefs like this anymore. One of the all time greats has moved to the golden rorgue in the sky.”
Guillaume Gomez, chef des cuisines of the Élysée Palace, wrote: “It took your genius to build and make what will now remain as your work, your heritage to gastronomy.”
Just a matter of weeks ago, Gomez was involved in the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Guérard opening Les Prés d’Eugénie in 1974.
“Tears flow in kitchens all over the world as there are so many of your disciples, and I know that they will be able to keep this heritage alive and value the products that you defended and loved with passion,” Gomez continued. “Producers of foie gras from the Landes, poultry from Saint Sever, beef from Bazas, and many others lose their greatest ambassador.”
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