Alain PASSARD

Chef : 1 restaurant

Presentation

With a pear and celeriac, some make a salad, Alain Passard makes cuisine. Some decorate the plate, Alain Passard creates a painting. And for those who imagine that he sings a lullaby to his vegetables at night (after all, why not?), it's important to realize that Alain Passard is not a dreamer, but a craftsman-artist who mobilizes all the senses in perfect harmony on every plate.

When he bought L'Archestrate on rue de Varenne in 1986, this son of a musician chose to rename it L'Arpège. The former student of Michel Kéréver and Gérard Boyer remembers that, a few years earlier, he had worked as a clerk for Alain Senderens. With Senderens having left rue de Varenne to join Lucas Carton on place de la Madeleine, Alain Passard dreamed of imitating his role model and, like him, achieving the highest distinctions.

Like him, he will achieve the supreme mark of 19.5/20, a score that will reward a cuisine that is both rigorous and voluptuous, a cuisine that is always on the move, evolving towards ever greater naturalness, to the point where, for a few years, Alain Passard will cook only vegetables. Ignoramus will mock him, but those who know how to eat will be stunned by his prowess, mastery and inventiveness.

Surprisingly, this discreet chef has never been Cook of the Year. After all, it doesn't matter, because, like some of the other greats, he could easily be honored every year. And it's been going on for 35 years, 35 years of happiness, wonder and discovery.

Biography & Awards

1956 naissance à la Guerche-de-Bretagne, en Ille-et-Vilaine.

1971 entre au Lion d’Or, à Liffré, comme apprenti.

1977 rejoint Alain Senderens à l’Archestrate, comme commis puis second.

1986 rachat de l’Archestrate, rue de Varenne, qui devient L’Arpège.

2020 entrée à l’Académie Gault&Millau.