Michel Michaud (born 1946) is a French chef who brought French cuisine to Denmark in 1971. Gaining wide acclaim for gourmet cuisine in restaurants across the country, he moved to

Ruth's Hotel Ruth's Hotel ( da, Ruths Hotel) is a historic hotel in the Højen district of Skagen in the far North of Jutland, Denmark. Named after its founders, Emma and Hans Christian Ruth, who opened it as ''Badepensionat Vesterhus'' in 1904, the establishm ...

in Skagen in 2004.

Biography

Born in

Cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cognac production falls under French appella ...

in the French department of Charente, at the age of 15 he trained as a chef at

Tarbes Tarbes (; Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France. It is the capital of Bigorre and of the Hautes-Pyrénées. It has been a commune since 1790. It was known as ''Turba ...

. He went on to work in Saintes,

Cahors Cahors (; oc, Caors ) is a commune in the western part of Southern France. It is the smallest prefecture among the 13 departments that constitute the Occitanie Region. The main city of the Lot department and the historical center of the Que ...

and at

Avallon Avallon () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in central-eastern France. Name Avallon, Latin ''Aballō'', ablative ''Aballone'', is ultimately derived from Gaulish ''*Aballū'', oblique ''*Aballon-'' meaning "App ...

in Burgundy where he joined the Michelin-starred restaurant Hostellerie de la Poste."Michel Michaud"
, Ruths Hotel. Retrieved 7 November 2013. He arrived in Denmark in 1971, where he worked for Sven and Lene Grønlykke, first in Falsled Kro on

Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...

and then at

Kong Hans Kælder Kong Hans Kælder is a two Michelin star restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark. It received the first Michelin star awarded to a Copenhagen restaurant, but lost its star in March 2014 . It since regained a Michelin star in 2015. On 13 September 2021, ...

in Copenhagen. Michaud brought French cuisine to Denmark, impacting trends in gastronomy. After a spell in Cologne and at La Table des Cordeliers in Condom, he returned to Denmark, where he worked at Søllerød Kro, earning his first Michelin star in 1986, then at Restaurant Gammel Åbyhøj in Aarhus and Restaurant Marie Louise in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

before beginning his term in Skagen in 2004. He has been widely acclaimed for his dishes in Ruths Brasserie which always meet the highest standards. In November 2013, it was announced that Michaud who arrived at Ruth's Hotel in 2004 would retire at the end of the year. He will continue to live in Skagen with his wife Annick and will go on producing his famous combinations of herbs and his Gâteau Marcel.Peter Witten, "Ruths Hotel får ny chefkok"
, ''Nordjyske.dk''. Retrieved 7 November 2013.

Awards

In addition to receiving Michelin stars for his restaurants in 1982, 1986 and 1987, Michaud has received an array of prestigious awards including the Order of the Dannebrog and the French

Ordre National du Mérite The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's estab ...

(both in 2008).

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Michaud, Michel Danish chefs Danish restaurateurs French chefs French restaurateurs People from Skagen People from Cognac, France Head chefs of Michelin starred restaurants Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Commanders of the Ordre national du Mérite French emigrants to Denmark 1946 births Living people