Michel Louis-Marie Richard ( ; ; March 7, 1948 – August 13, 2016) was a French-born chef, formerly the owner of the restaurant Citrus in Los Angeles and Citronelle and Central in Washington, D.C. He has owned restaurants in Santa Barbara,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Carmel,

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, Atlantic City,

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

and

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

Biography

Richard was born in

Pabu Pabu (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Pabu are called ''pabuais'' in French. Breton language In 2008, 32.46% of primary school children attended bilingual schoo ...

, Brittany, France on March 7, 1948, and raised in

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

. Needing to help his mother care for his siblings, he learned to cook. By age 14, Richard was working full-time as an apprentice

pâtissier A pastry chef or pâtissier (; the French female version of the word is pâtissière ), is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods. They are employed in large hotels, bis ...

at a hotel restaurant in Reims. After completing his military service as a cook in the French Army, he moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, where he was hired by French pastry chef Gaston Lenôtre at Maison Lenotre. In 1974, Lenôtre sent Richard to the United States to open Lenôtre's short-lived New York branch, Chateau France. After 3 years, Chateau France closed, and Richard moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, becoming pastry chef for the French Pastry Shop at La Fonda Hotel. In 1977, he was able to open the eponymous Michel Richard's Pastry Shop in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. By 1986, Richard was L.A.'s most famous French pastry chef when he opened his first restaurant, Citrus in

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages ...

. The success of Citrus led to opportunities to open more restaurants, including, in 1989, Citronelle in the Santa Barbara Inn Hotel, followed by satellites of Citrus in

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San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

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, and

, all of which eventually closed. In 1991, Richard was inducted into the

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is a New York City-based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The prog ...

's ''Who's Who of American Food''. By 1993, Richard had nine restaurants, after opening a Citronelle in

Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) Georgetown is a historic neighborhood, and commercial and entertainment district located in Northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751 in the Province of Maryland, the port of Georgetown predated the establishm ...

. In 1997, he sold half of his interest in Citrus (Los Angeles) to the Meristar Corporation, who were also his partners in Citronelle. In 1998, he moved to Washington, D.C., renovating the Citronelle there and renaming it Michel Richard Citronelle, making it his flagship restaurant. It would be his home-base until it closed in 2012. In 2003, Richard became a U.S. citizen. He won the 2007

James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media award ...

for Outstanding Chef. In 2007, Richard opened a new restaurant, Central Michel Richard on

Pennsylvania Avenue Pennsylvania Avenue is a diagonal street in Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland, that connects the White House and the United States Capitol and then crosses the city to Maryland. In Maryland it is also Maryland Route 4 (MD 4 ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and it won the

for Best New Restaurant. That year, he also opened Citrus at Social in

and Citronelle at Carmel Valley Ranch. At 65, Richard opened a restaurant and bakery in the New York Palace hotel in 2013. The restaurant closed within a year. On December 13, 2014, Michel was presented with the insignia of

Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

and Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Merit by the Republic of France. Richard died at Sibley Hospital in Washington, D.C. on August 13, 2016, from complications after a stroke. At the time of his death, the Pomme Palais bakery in New York and Central Michel Richard were his last two restaurants.

Awards and honors

* ''The Best Restaurants in the United States'' - Travelers Magazine (1987) * ''Who's Who of Cooking in America'' - '' Cook's'' Magazine (1988) * ''"Who's Who" in American Food and Wine'' -

(1991) * ''Best Chef, California & Hawaii'' -

(1992) * ''Top 20 Restaurants in the Country'' (Citronelle) - Gourmet Magazine (2001 and 2006) * ''Member'' - Traditions & Qualité, Les Grandes Tables du Monde (2002) * ''Best Fine Dining Restaurant and Chef of the Year, Best Chef of the Year'' - Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (2002) * ''Member'' - Relais & Chateaux Organization (2003) * ''Outstanding Chef'' -

(2007) * ''Best New Restaurant'' (Central) -

(2008)

Books

*''Michel Richard's Home Cooking with a French Accent'', Morrow, NY (January 1, 1993) ASIN: B001XGZ1Q8 *''Happy in the Kitchen: The Craft of Cooking the Art of Eating'', Artisan, (October 2006) *''Sweet Magic: Easy Recipes for Delectable Desserts'', Ecco, (November 2010)

Television

*'' Baking with Julia'' (Episodes 103 and 304) *'' How to Cook Everything; Bittman Takes on America's Chefs'' (Episode 108) *'' Great Chefs – Great Cities'' (Episodes 40, 62, and 76) *''

Chef's Story ''Chef's Story'' is a 26-part Public Television series featuring Dorothy Cann Hamilton interviewing well-known chefs and restaurateurs. Hamilton, founder and CEO of The French Culinary Institute, conducts the interviews in front of culinary studen ...

'' (Episode 111) *'' Cooking with Master Chefs'' (Chocolate Dome; Hot Chocolate Truffles. Episode 2) *"Monet's Palate - A Gastronomic View from the Gardens of Giverny" *"Colameco's Food Show - Michel Richard/Citronelle"

References

External links

*
CentralJames Beard Foundation (Michel Richard)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richard, Michel 1948 births 2016 deaths French chefs French emigrants to the United States French restaurateurs People from Champagne-Ardenne James Beard Foundation Award winners