Alain Senderens (French pronunciation: [alɛ̃ sɑ̃dʁɛ̃s], 2 December 1939 – 25 June 2017) was a leading French chef and practitioner of Nouvelle Cuisine. Le Figaro credited him as the inventor of food and wine pairings.[1]

Alain Senderens
Born2 December 1939
Died25 June 2017

Biography

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Senderens was born in Hyères, Var, France and completed secondary school in Labatut-Rivière. Before moving to Paris, he apprenticed at the Ambassador Hotel in Lourdes. In Paris, Senderens worked at well-known restaurants La Tour d'Argent and Lucas Carton, which he would later own. He later became the sous-chef at a Hilton restaurant near Orly Airport.

In 1968, Alain Senderens opened L'Archestrate in Paris, which he operated until 1985. In 1978, the restaurant earned three Michelin stars.[2] He was the chef at Lucas Carton from 1985 until 2005, when he acquired ownership of the restaurant and renamed it Senderens.[3] In 2005, he became the first chef to hand back his three Michelin stars after the restaurant was relaunched.[4] At the time he said he could not charge an affordable price for meals while keeping up the standards Michelin required. As a result, Senderens stated that the customers pay a third of the former prices, return more often, generating profits that were nearly four times of what they were.[5] Despite handing back his three star rating, Senderens was later awarded two stars by Michelin.[3] In 2013, Senderens sold the restaurant, which reverted to its Lucas Carton name.

Senderens died at his home in Corrèze on 25 June 2017.[1]

Influence

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The New York Times called him a founding father of Nouvelle Cuisine and he is recognized as a pioneer of food and wine pairings.[3] He worked with his sommelier Didier Bureau and the wine magazine La Revue du vin de France “to make the wine happy”. [6] Senderens trained a number of notable chefs, including: Alain Passard, who took over L'Archestrate and renamed it Arpège, Alain Solivérès of Taillevent, Christian Le Squer of Le Cinq, and Christopher Hache of Hôtel de Crillon.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Le chef Alain Senderens s'est éteint". Le Figaro. 27 June 2017.
  2. ^ "Le chef étoilé Alain Senderens est mort". Dernières Nouvelle d'Alsace. 26 June 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Grimes, William (27 June 2017). "Alain Senderens, a Chef Who Modernized French Food, Dies at 77". The New York Times.
  4. ^ "Alain Senderens, un Temps d'Avance". Liberation (in French). 27 June 2017.
  5. ^ Kibar, Osman, DN.no (7 April 2008). "Kokkekamp om Michelin-stjerner" (in Norwegian).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ The Connexxion, June 2022, pg 13