Chef Avillez, the mastermind behind two-star Michelin restaurant Belcanto, said Robuchon’s death meant “a great loss for the world of gastronomy,” adding that Robuchon had influenced many people in the world of cuisine.
“He changed culinary concepts when he founded Atelier, a mix of a tapas bar and a Japanese counter, getting everyone eating at the bar when that was only traditional in some countries,” Avillez told Lusa News Agency.
Chef Robuchon, who was known for his signature dishes of mashed potatoes and built an empire of gourmet restaurants around the world, had 32 Michelin stars. Last year he had an operation for a pancreatic tumour.
Born in 1945 in Poitiers, western France, Robuchon achieved several accolades during his career and was hailed as one of four “chefs of the century” by Gault Millau in 1990.
Avillez, who became the first Portuguese chef to win two Michelin stars, also recalled how he served Robuchon a meal at the restaurant Tavares in Lisbon.
“He told me it was one of the best dishes he had eaten in his life. At the time, French people weren’t used to seeing other chefs that weren’t French, and he enjoyed the dish so much that he jokingly said: the chef must be French because this is really good.”
The second time both chefs met was in Paris, at one of Joel Robuchon’s restaurants.