Ramsay tribute to Godfather of Michelin

GORDON Ramsay yesterday led tributes to his mentor Joel Robuchon, the world’s most Michelin-starred chef.

The 73-year-old Frenchman, who died at his home in Geneva after battling cancer, became a worldwide phenomenon after earning 32 stars in his restaurants which spanned three continents.

Ramsay, 51, his most famous protege, said on Instagram: “We’ve lost The Godfather of Michelin, the most decorated Chef in the World. He kept all of us on our toes! Even when we were sleeping! Merci Chef, God Bless.”

In his autobiography Ramsay said working at Robuchon’s Paris restaurant in the late 1980s was like a stint in the SAS. And Robuchon told how Ramsay had been “difficult”, even in his early days, and was the only person he ever threw a plate at in his kitchen – a dish of langoustine ravioli.

Named the “chef of the century” by the Gault et Millau cooking guide in 1990, Robuchon was known as a perfectionist who made even ordinary dishes like mashed potato into an art form.

But he also liked to keep things simple, aiming never to combine more than three flavours in a dish. In France he is known for helping usher in new authenticity after the excesses of nouvelle cuisine.

His only London restaurant, L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, opened in Covent Garden in 2006.

Food writer Patricia Wells said describing Robuchon as a cook “is a bit like calling Pablo Picasso a painter, Luciano Pavarotti a singer, Frederic Chopin a pianist”.