Joël Robuchon(Las Vegas) L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon(Dubai, Gustavia, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, Macau (Robuchon Au Dome), Madrid, Miami, Monaco, Paris, Taipei, Tokyo, Singapore, Geneva and Shanghai) La Table de Joël Robuchon & Le Chateau de Joël Robuchon(Paris, Shanghai and Tokyo)
Joël Robuchon (French pronunciation:[ʒɔɛlʁɔbyʃɔ̃], 7 April 1945 – 6 August 2018) was a French chef and restaurateur. He was named "Chef of the Century" by the guideGault Millau in 1989,[1] and awarded theMeilleur Ouvrier de France (France's best worker) in cuisine in 1976. He published several cookbooks, two of which have been translated into English, chaired the committee for theLarousse Gastronomique, and hosted culinary television shows in France.[2][3] He operated more than a dozen restaurants across Bangkok, Bordeaux, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, London, Macau, Madrid, Monaco, Montreal, Paris, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo, and New York City. His restaurants have been acclaimed, and he held 31Michelin Guide stars among them by the time of his death in 2018, the most any restaurateur has ever held.[4][5] He is considered to be one of the greatest chefs of all time.[6][7][8]
Robuchon was born in 1945 inPoitiers, France, one of four children of a bricklayer.[9] He attended the seminary in Châtillon-sur-Sèvre (nowMauléon),Deux-Sèvres,[10] briefly considering a clerical career. However, he discovered his love of cooking while helping the nuns prepare food in the kitchen.[11] In 1960, at the age of 15, he became an apprentice chef at the Relais de Poitiers hotel, starting as a pastry chef.[10] While undergoing his apprenticeship, he won five competitive medals for cooking while under 20. He also went on his first trip to Japan with his mentor, the Michelin-starred chef Jean Delaveyne. He would, like his mentor, be a disciple of Japanese tradition and influence in his cooking throughout his career.[12]
After he turned 21, he joined the apprenticeshipCompagnon du Tour de France, enabling him to travel throughout the country, learning a variety of regional techniques.[10] At the age of 29, Robuchon was appointed head chef at theHôtel Concorde La Fayette, where he managed 90 cooks.[9] In 1976 he won theMeilleur Ouvrier de France for his craftsmanship in culinary arts.[10] While working as an Executive Chef and Food and Beverage manager of theNikko hotel in Paris he gained twoMichelin stars.[13]
In 1981, he opened his own restaurant, Jamin, which holds the rare distinction of receiving three Michelin stars in the first three years of existence.[9] 18 months after its opening,The New York Times described him as one of the "most creative young chefs in Paris" while reporting on his second Michelin star.[14] In 1984, Jamin was named "Best Restaurant in the World" by the International Herald Tribune.[4] Between 1987 and 1990, he became a regular of cooking shows on French television.
In 1995, seeing many of his peers die of stress and heart attacks, Robuchon retired at the age of 50. He subsequently staged a comeback, opening several restaurants bearing his name around the world. He hostedCuisinez comme un grand chef onTF1 from 1996 to 1999; in 2000, he hostedBon appétit bien sûr on France 3. Through his various restaurants, including the newly awarded 3-star rating for his restaurant in Singapore, he accumulated a total of 31Michelin Guide stars – the most of any chef in the world.[4]
Robuchon and his wife Jeanine, a European woman whom he married in 1966, had two children, son Eric Robuchon, a pedicurist and podiatrist based in Paris, and daughter Sophie Kartheiser, who manages a restaurant named La Cour d'Eymet inDordogne with her husband, chef François Kartheiser. He also has a son Louis Robuchon-Abe (born 1988) with a Japanese woman. Louis is a wine importer in Japan. Robuchon was survived by his wife, his three children and four grandchildren.[20]
Robuchon has been the most influential French chef of the post-nouvelle cuisine era. Since the mid-1980s, he has been called theprimus inter pares of Paris' three-star chefs for his work both at Jamin and at his eponymous restaurant.[21]
Robuchon has been known for the relentlessperfectionism of his cuisine; he said there is no such thing as the perfect meal – one can always do better. He was instrumental in leading French cuisine forward from the excessive reductionism ofnouvelle cuisine toward a post-modern amalgam of thenouvelle, international influences – especially Japanese cuisine – and even select traditions ofhaute cuisine. In particular, his style of cooking was often seen as of celebrating the intrinsic qualities of the best, seasonal ingredients (dubbed "cuisine actuelle" byPatricia Wells in her book,Simply French).[22] Drawing his inspiration firstly from the simplicity of Japanese cuisine, he led the way in creating a more delicate style respectful of natural food ingredients.[23]
^MacDonogh, Giles (8 May 1995). "Star performance – Giles MacDonogh takes a fresh look at the culinary capital of the world and assesses the city's top eight restaurants".Financial Times Guide to Eating Out in Paris. p. 3.
^Robuchon, Joël (1995).Joël Robuchon: Cooking Through the Seasons. Rabaudy, Nicholas de. New York: Rizzoli.ISBN0-8478-1899-3.OCLC32167297.
^Robuchon, Joël (2001).La cuisine de Joël Robuchon. Rabaudy, Nicolas de. London: Cassell.ISBN1-84188-134-1.OCLC48871437.
^Wells, Patricia; Robuchon, Joël (1998).L'atelier of Joël Robuchon : the artistry of a master chef and his protégés. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.ISBN0-442-02652-8.OCLC37277523.
^Patricia, Wells; Robuchon, Joël (1992).Le meilleur & le plus simple de Robuchon : 130 recettes. Paris: Robert Laffont.ISBN2221072928.OCLC319877446.
^Robuchon, Joël; Millau, Christian; Amiard, Hervé (1996).Le meilleur & le plus simple de la France : 130 recettes. Paris: R. Laffont.ISBN2221081099.OCLC761345030.
^Robuchon, Joël; Sabatier, Patrick P. (1994).Le meilleur & le plus simple de la pomme de terre : 100 recettes. Paris: R. Laffont.ISBN2221076265.OCLC33206316.
