Frédy Girardet (born 17 November 1936) is a
Swiss
Swiss most commonly refers to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Swiss may also refer to: Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
* Swiss Café, an old café located ...
chef who cooks in the
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
tradition. Often considered one of the greatest chefs of the 20th Century, his self-named restaurant Chez Girardet (now Restaurant de l'Hôtel de Ville) in
Crissier, Switzerland
Crissier () is a municipality in the district of Ouest Lausannois in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.
It is a suburb of Lausanne.
History
Crissier is first mentioned in 1199 as ''Crissiaco''. In 1228 it was mentioned as ''Crissie''.
Geograph ...
(near
Lausanne, Switzerland
Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French-speaking canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and facing the ...
) earned three
Michelin stars
The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few restaurants in certain geographic ...
and before Girardet's retirement in 1996 was often called the greatest restaurant in the world.
Biography
Girardet was born to Benjamin and Georgette Girardet
in Lausanne, Switzerland.
His father cooked for years in Hôtel Central Bellevue in Lausanne,
before opening a
bistro
A bistro or bistrot (), in its original Parisian form, is a small restaurant serving moderately priced, simple meals in a modest setting. In more recent years, the term has become used by restaurants considered, by some, to be pretentious.
Style ...
in Crissier, Switzerland, a small town nearby.
Girardet was an athletic child, playing amateur
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
(soccer). Although he apprenticed at Le Grand Chêne, a restaurant in Lausanne,
his ambition was to become a
professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...
soccer player.
During a wine-buying tour of
Burgundy
Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...
for his father's restaurant, a
vintner
A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes:
*Cooperating with viticulturists
*Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to de ...
took him to
La Maison Troisgros in
Roanne
Roanne (; ; ) is a commune in the Loire department, central France.
It is located northwest of Lyon on the river Loire. It has an important Museum, the ''Musée des Beaux-arts et d'Archéologie Joseph-Déchelette'' (French), with many Egypt ...
. Girardet describes the meal, his first at a renowned restaurant, as a spiritual experience that convinced him to become a chef.
When his father died unexpectedly at age 56, he took over the bistro. Cooking originally in a classic style, he began to experiment with lighter and more innovative style, joining with his contemporaries to develop the emerging
nouvelle cuisine
Nouvelle cuisine (; 'new cuisine') is an approach to cooking and food presentation in French cuisine. In contrast to ''cuisine classique'', an older form of ''haute cuisine'', nouvelle cuisine is characterized by lighter, more delicate dishes and ...
movement.
Cuisine
Girardet is known primarily for his nouvelle cuisine style. He avoids using
flour
Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...
in his sauces, thickening them instead with simmered meat stocks.
By more modern standards he is considered a traditionalist. He is a critic of
molecular cuisine, in particular its use of non-natural ingredients.
In 1982 he published ''Les recettes originales de Girardet: La cuisine spontanée''. In 1984 followed ''The Cuisine of Fredy Girardet'' (edited by food writer
Narcisse Chamberlain), in
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
with English translation.
Restaurant
Restaurant de l'Hôtel de Ville de Crissier was opened in 1971. Unlike many acclaimed chefs from the era, Girardet personally spent most of his time in the kitchen supervising the cuisine, rarely traveled,
and avoided consultancies and endorsements.
The restaurant was called by some the greatest restaurant in the world,
and for his work there, Girardet was often called the world's greatest chef.
Girardet sold his restaurant in 1996, at age 60, to
Philippe Rochat
Philippe Rochat (29 November 1953 – 8 July 2015) was a Swiss chef and the owner of the ''Restaurant de L'Hôtel de Ville'' in Crissier, Switzerland.
The restaurant, formerly owned by Frédy Girardet, won three Michelin Guide stars, and was vo ...
, who had worked under Girardet since 1980, and Rochat's wife
Franziska Rochat-Moser. He then retired to the town of
Féchy
Féchy is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality located in the district of Morges District, Morges of the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Romandy, the French-speaking part of the country.
History
Féchy is fi ...
.
Girardet grew bored after retiring, and had some friction with Rochat, who quickly regained the restaurant's three-star rating.
Food writer
Colman Andrews
Colman Robert Hardy Andrews (born February 18, 1945) is an American writer and editor on food and wine. He is best known for his association with ''Saveur'' magazine, which he founded with Dorothy Kalins, Michael Grossman, and Christopher Hirshei ...
speculated that Girardet quit during the prime of his career after observing other chefs he knew, including his father, who were unable to sell when they wanted, and who eventually died early from the stress of running a restaurant.
Among Girardet's other understudies is
Léa Linster
Léa Linster (born 27 April 1955) is a Luxembourgish chef, and a gold medal winner of the 1989 Bocuse d'Or, the first and to date only woman to accomplish this.Curtis, Stephanie. ''Food Arts'' (May, 2006)Women who wear toques/ref>World Gourmet Summ ...
.
See also
*
Swiss cuisine
Swiss cuisine (, , , ) is an ensemble of national, regional and local dishes, consisting of the ingredients, recipes and List of cooking techniques, cooking techniques developed in Switzerland or assimilated from other cultures, particularly ne ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Girardet, Fredy
Swiss chefs
1936 births
Living people
People from Lausanne
Head chefs of Michelin-starred restaurants