Michel Guérard was born in 1933 in Asnières-sur-Seine, France. He trained under renowned chefs including Pierre Taittinger, before opening Le Pot-au-Feu restaurant in Paris in 1965. In 1974, he opened Michel Guérard restaurant in Eugénie-les-Bains.
At Michel Guérard, he pioneered a nouvelle cuisine approach that embraced lighter techniques and regional ingredients over heavy sauces. Dishes like Scallop Mousseline with Squid Ink spotlighted the style.
The restaurant earned its first Michelin star in 1967 under Guérard. In 1977 Michel Guérard obtained the maximum 3 stars – one of the first chefs to earn this for nouvelle cuisine.
Beyond Michelin honors, Guérard founded cuisine minceur, the precursor to today’s spa cuisine movement. He authored 35 cookbooks, including “Cuisine Minceur” in 1976.
For co-founding nouvelle cuisine and earning France’s first 3 Michelin stars for the style, Michel Guérard cemented his place as one of the most influential French chefs of the 20th century.
