Joel Robuchon, Influential French Chef, Dies of Cancer at age 73.

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Gadjobrinus

Supporting Member
HBT Supporter
Joined
Aug 24, 2017
Messages
6,894
Reaction score
6,976
Location
USA
Many might not know of Chef Robuchon. Tons went through his extremely arduous kitchen, in Paris. He was one of the most rigorous chefs producing French cuisine with a deep attention to classicism, but with modern technique and an eye to other palates as well. If Paul Bocuse, also recently left us, could be considered the successor chef to Fernand Point, to Escoffier himself, then I think it's fair to say Chef Robuchon succeeded Chef Bocuse for this era.

He was tough. Eric Ripert passed through his kitchen, and it broke him completely. But he walked away learning at a level nowhere else obtainable. Could be the last of his kind.

He walked away from the running of his eponymous restaurant when he saw what the life was doing to his friends and colleagues - killing them, young. Since Careme, it's known no one signs up for the life at the pinnacle of haute cuisine expecting a long life. Black, poisonous air, intense heat, murderous physical demands and a killing stress day in, day out, too many hours per day, are a deadly combination.

Chef Robuchon will almost inevitably be remembered for his....mashed potatoes. One finds that trite, or as profound as possible, depending on one's viewpoint. I learned an entire world from the techniques embodied in this simple side.
 
Truthfully, I know basically nothing of Chef Robuchon. Except his name.

His name, which other chefs almost speak in a hush out of their deep respect for his contribution to their trade.

So while I didn't really know of him himself, I knew enough to recognize that this is a great loss to the world of cooking.
 
His was a level of perfectionism that an extremely rare few carry in their kitchens today - perhaps the last of the chefs truly anchored in the classic lineage, but given freedom by the much-maligned "nouvelle" movement. Like I said, I learned a ton just from mastering his approach to mashed potatoes. People in my restaurant regularly kind of freaked that something so simple could be that intensely pleasurable a culinary experience. I gave the credit to Chef Robuchon, where it all belongs.
 
Back
Top