Alain Passard (born August 4, 1956 at La Guerche in Brittany, France) is a French chef and owner of the three star restaurant L'Arpège, located in Paris.

History

Passard began his culinary career in 1971 at the age of 14 working at Hôtellerie du Lion d'Or in Liffré under Michel Kerever. From 1976 to 1977 Passard worked at La Chaumiere in Reims under Gaston Boyer. From 1980 to 1984 Passard worked at Le Duc d'Enghien, at the Casino of Enghien, during which time, at the age of 26, he became the youngest two star chef.

In 1984, Passard moved to the Restaurant Carlton, Brussels, Belgium and within two years the restaurant earns two stars from the Michelin Dining Guide.

In 1986, Passard purchased the three star restaurant L'Archestrate from his former mentor Alain Senderens and renamed it L'Arpège. It took only a single year to earn its first star, then one year more to earn its second. In 1996, L'Arpège earned its third star from the Michelin Dining Guide, which it has retained ever since.

In 2001, Passard completely removed red meat from his menu and turned the focus of his efforts to vegetables, stating "I believe I have come far in the areas of poultry and meat based cuisine. Today I aspire to another exploration based in vegetables. I voluntarily erase, without regret, twelve signature dishes of the house with real reassessment. I sense a fabulous adventure in exploring the depths of my passion." Passard denies that this had anything to do with the Mad Cow Disease scare, though the timing does seem more than coincidental.

In September of 2002 Passard opened his Kitchen Garden, a 2 hectare parcel of land run by two gardeners apporximately 230 kilometers from Paris, in the French countryside. The vegetables are grown completely organically and even the use of machines is forbidden. The only help the gardeners receive during harvest is the use of a draught horse to help till the soil.

Passard received a measure of international noteriety by participating as a challenger on the wildly popular Japanese show Iron Chef. He first appeared in the 1997 World Cup held in Arashiyama, a district in the the Kyoto prefecture of Japan. With these words begins each edition of Iron Chef, a Japanese television program made by FujiTV. The original Japanese title is Ryōri no tetsujin (料理の鉄人, Ironmen of Cooking). It began airing in 1993 as a half-hour show, and after 23 episodes was expanded to a one-hour format. ...

Passard defeated Parick Clark in the first round in Battle Homard Lobster to earn the right to battle Iron Chef Japanese Koumei Nakamura, who had defeated Liu Xikun in his first round match, the theme ingredient being beef. Koumei Nakamura (中村孝明 Nakamura Kōmei, born 1947 in Shimabara City, Nagasaki Prefecture), is a celebrity chef. ...

In the final, with foie gras being the theme ingredient, giving the French chef a decided advantage over his Japanese counterpart, the two tied, both being honored as World Cup champions. This was before an over time period had been instituted in the case of a tie. Pâté de foie gras served picnic-style with a Sauternes wine and bread. ...

In the last match held in Kitchen Stadium, in September of 1999, the "King of Iron Chefs" tournament was held with all of the current Iron Chefs battling each other for the right to battle Passard in the final. In first round matches Iron Chef Chinese Chen Kenichi defeated Iron Chef Italian Masahiko Kobe in a pork battle and Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai defeated Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto in a bell pepper battle. In the semi-final match Sakai defeated Chen in Battle Homard Lobster for the right to take on Passard. Chen Kenichi (陳建一) (born 1956 in Tokyo, Japan) is the Iron Chef Chinese on the television series Iron Chef. ... Masahiko Kobe (神戸勝彦) (born 1969 in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan) is the only Italian Iron Chef, wearing the Italian Flag (Red, White, & Green) as his outfit and holding a tomato. ... Hiroyuki Sakai (Sakai Hiroyuki; 坂井 宏行) (born April 2, 1942 in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan) is a well-known Japanese chef who specializes in French cuisine. ... Masaharu Morimoto (森本正治 Morimoto Masaharu; born May 26, 1955 in Hiroshima, Japan) is a well-known Japanese chef, best-known as the third (and last) Iron Chef Japanese on the TV cooking show Iron Chef, and an Iron Chef on its spinoff, Iron Chef America. ...

With all the current Iron Chefs, as well as the former Iron Chefs(Iron Chef French I Yutaka Ishinabe, Iron Chef Japanese I Rokusaburo Michiba and Iron Chef Japanese II Koumei Nakamura) looking on, Passard and Sakai battled each other with the theme ingedient being Ronkonkai Chicken, a special type of chicken raised in Jiangsu, China. Rokusaburo Michiba (道場 六三郎 Michiba Rokusaburō, born January 3, 1931) is a Japanese cuisine chef most notable for his appearance on the Japanese television series Iron Chef. ... Koumei Nakamura (中村孝明 Nakamura Kōmei, born 1947 in Shimabara City, Nagasaki Prefecture), is a celebrity chef. ...

Sakai defeated Passard in the final match to be named "King of Iron Chefs". Still, it was a great honor for Passard to be named as the ultimate test for the Iron Chefs, so much so that even in defeat his Ronkonkai Chicken à la Dragee, a dish in which he slowly cooked the chicken for 40 minutes then covered it with minced Dragee (almonds covered with a hard sugar glaze), was named one of the 10 best dishes ever created in Kitchen Stadium.

The son of musicians, Passard is also passionate about music, playing the saxophone. He recently released his first book, "Les Recettes des Drôles de Petites Bêtes", a recipe book written especially for childen. He is also a partner in a company that produces mustard using a 16th century recipe and has worked with silversmiths Christofle on a set of flatware made especially for eating vegetables.

External links

• Alain-Passard.com