Saint de Cuisine: Joël Robuchon Heavenly food prepared by the master of cuisine. James Paxton
Joel Robuchon
On April 7, 1945, in Poitiers, France, the Robuchon family were rejoicing the birth of baby Joël. Unnoticed by the family, a man was hovering in the corner of the room, silently praying. Although of Italian origin, he had lived most of his life in France, in Tours then in Poitiers, where at the age of 105, he died—in 365 A.D.
His name was Fortunat, Patron Saint of Chefs. He was bringing gifts from Saint Vincent, wine bottles of course, and from Saint Laurent. Saint Laurent, the Patron Saint of Chefs Rotisseurs could have made it, but ever since he had been grilled to death in 258 A.D., he was a bit reluctant (because of the smell) to be seen in public. His gift to Joël Robuchon was a sense of humor. For he was the one who said to his torturers, “Turn me over for I am cooked on this side.”
Naturally, with all these saints hovering around, young Joël decided to become a priest. Saint Fortunat saw to it that the young man be assigned to the kitchens of the seminary. But Joël left the seminary and took a job in the kitchen at the Concorde-Lafayette Hotel.
By the time he was 29, Joël was managing 90 cooks who were putting out some 5,000 meals a day. In 1966, Joel was working at the Berkeley in Paris, the chicest restaurant in the French capital.
In 1981, a few days before Christmas of course, he took over Restaurant Jamin. Alleluia for the Tête de Cochon pomme-puree and the Carre d’Agneau en croute de sel. Saint Bibendum, the Patron Saint of Michelin, gave him his first star in 1982, the second one in 1983 and sanctified him with a third star in 1984. Joel was 39.
“I do all sorts of cuisine. I work on what ever goes through my hands or through my head. But with only one goal: quality … a chicken should taste like a chicken, a carrot like a carrot.”
In 1990, the Gault & Milau Guide crowned Paul Bocuse, Fredy Girardet and Joël Robuchon Chefs of the Century.
In 1994, Joël Robuchon opened, in a private mansion on rue Raymond Poincare in the posh 16th arrondissement of Paris, a restaurant bearing his name. Despite the fabulous cauliflower cream with caviar, Saint Modest was not very happy with the boy, or so Joël believed. Maybe this is the reason why Joel retired at the age of 50.
Yes, he retired, he quit.
And who else, other than Alain Ducasse, was there to take over his restaurant (and to change the name to Alain Ducasse, of course).
For nearly eight years, Joël cooked for millions of TV viewers. By then his ex apprentices have their own stars in the Michelin.
In May 2003, thunderclap among the stars: Joël Robuchon opened , 7 rue de Montalembert in Paris. Forget the pompous 3-star restaurant décor, the glittering silverware and crystal glasses. Forget the endless tasting menus and the First Growth Bordeaux. You may as well also forget to make a reservation, since you will stand in line along with other Masters of the World, golden boys and fur-clad celebrities waiting to be seated.
Joël Robuchon consistently invents and re-invents world cuisine that you enjoy while seated at a U-shaped counter watching the Saint and his disciples creating mysterious bite-sized morsels such as crispy frog legs in tiny ponds of pesto, delicate sweetbreads impaled with a leafy stem, slices of Jabugo Patta Negra thinner than rolling paper. The wines are from France of course, but also Italy, Spain, the Southern Hemisphere, and the United States.
The desserts … Saint Macarius and Saint Honore themselves are working anonymously at the kitchen of L’Atelier.
After went into a frenzy of opening Ateliers and classic restaurants: Paris (la Table de Joël Robuchon), Las Vegas, Macao, Monte Carlo, New York, Tokyo (Chateau Restaurant Joël Robuchon, what else?), London, Hong Kong.
And the press, and aficionados are raving.
But, how you might ask, can a mere mortal simultaneously orchestrate kitchens at the Four Corners of the World? How can his cuisine always be perfect, always innovative? Was ubiquity among the gifts of Saint Fortunat on that day in April 1945?
Probably not.
But there was the stellar gift of surrounding oneself with other great chefs, the executive chefs at Joël’s Robuchon restaurants: David Alves, Eric Bouchenoire, Philippe Braun, Francky Sabat, Christophe Cussac, Philippe Groult are among the numerous Companions of the Master.
