The Recipe for a Culinary Empire: Chef Gaston Lenôtre

French chef Gaston Lenôtre passed away at the age of 88.  Chef Lenôtre left behind him a culinary empire and revolutionized the art of pastry making.  Gaston Lenôtre’s son, Chef Alain Lenôtre, speaks about his father’s life and legacy.

Pastry Making

From his first pastry shop in Paris in 1957, Gaston Lenotre, considered by many chefs to be the father of modern-day pastries, created a cooking school and a diversified, worldwide catering company.

• President Nicolas Sarkozy led a flow of tributes pouring in for "one of the greatest masters of taste." "Thanks to his talent and creativity, his rigor and excellence, he elevated patisserie to the rank of art form," he said in a statement.

• "We have lost a very great man," said three-star chef Alain Ducasse, a fellow global ambassador for French cuisine who learned the art of pastry-making from Lenotre as a young man.

Rise to Fame

My father Gaston Lenotre is considered one of France's best-ever pastrymaker. Gaston  Lenotre is credited with taking a new approach to pastrymaking, notably making it lighter and less sugary. He is admired as a living Antonin Carēme or as a modern Auguste Escoffier. He is certainly the world’s most famous French Pastry Chef and caterer alive.

In 1920, my father was born in Normandy, a province of plenty west of France, world famous for its Calvados Brandy, cheeses (including Camembert), the Mont Saint Michel monastery, and the landing beaches of the Battle of Normandy.  As a patriarch, he liked to work with his family member, twelve of us at one time; including the third generation of LeNôtre chefs, my cousin Patrick and myself.

In addition to his incredible taste and professional “Savoir Faire” he always made bold moves.  Among his list of firsts are; the first chain of upscale bakeries in Paris, a bakery-café bistro in the first French shopping mall, the first central kitchen in the country outside of Paris, the first professional French re-training chef school, the first line of frozen desserts distributed all over France, and he developed the first International bakery franchises (now in a dozen countries including Germany, Japan, Hong Kong and Kuwait).  My father wrote nine recipe books with my sister Sylvie, that have been translated into English, German, and Japanese and have sold close to a million copies. He also was the official caterer of the World Soccer Cup in France in 1998 and of the French Olympic team in Sydney, Australia.  He catered for President King and celebrities all over the world.

My wife, my son Gaston, and I visited him often.  Together we made apricot jam, watched the wild ducks on his lakes, picked mushroom chanterelles in the woods and cooked them for our dinner.  Thanks to him we know the true secret of “The Art de Vivre”. 

Culinary Institute LeNôtre

A legendary name in the world of French baking, pastry, and the culinary arts, the Culinary Institute LeNôtre is dedicated to innovative culinary arts education. Welcome to a "World Renowned Family of Chefs" The LeNôtre family name for the last 50 years has been well known throughout the world for quality French cuisine and pastry. The Culinary Institute LeNôtre (CIL) provides beginners and professionals with some of the best possible innovative training. With diploma and associate degree programs that offers hands-on culinary arts and baking/pastry training to beginners and professionals.

Culinary Institute LeNôtre focuses on Regional Classic French as the backbone for Level One.  Level two progresses to Haute French Style cuisine starting as far back as Master Chef Carème – Classic French with Master Chef Escoffier- Nouvelle cuisines with dishes from the most respected Masters.  Level 3 lab finishes with world cuisines. 

Culinary Institute LeNotre provides higher education with the best possible classical and innovative training in the culinary arts and hospitality industries. The Diploma and Associate of Applied Science programs include 4 diplomas and 4 associates from cuisine to baking & pastry and/or a combination of both disciplines.

For more information, please visit www.CulinaryInstitute.edu