Alain Senderens, French culinary icon who rejected Michelin stars

French chef Alain Senderens, who rejected his Michelin stars and was acclaimed as a visionary, rebel and a force in the development of nouvelle cuisine, has died aged 77.

He was among the chefs who pushed forward the lighter nouvelle cuisine that captures the flavours of regional products, and he pared down in other areas, too, including prices. In 2005, he transformed the Parisian restaurant Lucas Carton, which he took over in 1985, into a lower-priced establishment.

That was after he tried to give back his years of three star-ratings, only to win two stars the following year.

“I wanted to make another style of restaurant,” Senderens told the Associated Press in 2006, after winning the two stars.

“I didn’t want the stars anymore, but I can’t do anything. Michelin says they give stars to whomever they want.”

Senderens was fed up with the rigours of the star system and the competition in the kitchen, and the inaccessible prices for his creations.

He said in 2005 that after 27 years of being listed in the guide, he wanted to make a break, and make dining more affordable by cutting costs.

When he reopened under a new name, Senderens, prices fell to the $80 range, without wine – about a quarter of the average price at the time of Michelin establishments.

Asian-inspired dishes that he was known for continued, such as pigeon with crab and vermicelli, and Javanese lamb curry with citronella and mango.

His signature dish through the decades was Canard Apicius, a duck dish based on a recipe from Roman times.

Wine propelled Senderens’ creative talents. Among chefs emphasising the need for harmony between a wine and the food on the plate, he took it a step further, creating dishes around particular wines.

Senderens sold his restaurant in 2013 and it reverted to the name of Lucas Carton.

Celebrated French chef Paul Bocuse, 91, paid tribute to Senderens in a Facebook post as a “giant of a chef with infinite talent”.

“A great chef indeed,” said Thomas Keller, one of America’s top chefs, best known for his Napa Valley restaurant The French Laundry.

Alain Senderens was one of the pioneers of nouvelle cuisine.