Legendary French Chef Joël Robuchon – whose global empire includes one of the two Macau restaurants to boast three Michelin stars – has passed away at the age of 73 after a brief battle with cancer.
Renowned as one of the key gastronomic influencers of the 20th century, his simple yet playful cooking style made him a hit with both French traditionalists and the modern elite.
Opening his first restaurant, Jamin, in Paris in 1981, he would later develop his famed Atelier concept – small, intimate spaces operating on a first-come, first-served basis and where diners could literally watch the chefs preparing their meals. Today there are 12 branches of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon around the world incuding Beijing, Tokyo, London and his latest venture in New York which opened earlier this year.
Robuchon, who one famously threw a plate of food at one if his many famous apprentices, Gordon Ramsey, achieved a world record in 2016 when his restaurants were awarded a combined 32 Michelin stars globally. He held 28 at the time of his death following the June closure of Joel Robuchon Restaurant at Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore.
However, in Macau the Robuchon name is credited with starting the SAR’s fine dining scene with the launch of Robuchon e Galera at Hotel Lisboa in 2001. Recalling the restaurant’s launch in a 2016 interview with South China Morning Post, food and travel expert Chan Chan-wai said, “Many people were not sure if Macau was sophisticated enough to have a restaurant like this.”
Moving to its current home at Grand Lisboa in 2014 and changing its name to Robuchon au Dôme, the restaurant has been awarded three Michelin stars every year since the launch of the Michelin Guide Hong Kong and Macau in 2008.
To this day it remains one of only two Macau restaurants with three Michelin stars alongside The Eight, also at Grand Lisboa.
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