Roger Vergé

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Roger Vergé
Official website
Born	(1930-04-07) April 7, 1930 Commentry, Allier, France
Cooking style	Nouvelle cuisine Provencal cuisine
Rating(s) Michelin stars
Previous restaurant(s) Le Moulin de Mougins L'Amandier de Mougins Sutter 500 Le Médi Cuisine du Soleil
www.moulindemougins.com

Roger Vergé (born April 7, 1930) is a retired French chef. He is considered one of the greatest chefs of his time. The Gault Millau has described him as: "the very incarnation of the great French chef for foreigners."^[1]

Personal life

Roger Vergé was born April 7, 1930 in Commentry, which is a commune in the department of Allier in central France. It lies 42 miles (68 km) southwest of Moulins by the Orléans railway and is within 8 km of the geographic centre of France.

His father was a blacksmith. He claims he was inspired to learn cooking from his aunt Célestine to whom he has dedicated many of his books. He trained at the Tour d'Argent and the Plaza Athénée, before leaving France. He left France to go and work in Africa. He worked in the restaurant of Mansour de Casablanca (in Morocco), L'Oasis (in Algeria) and in Kenya.^[2] Back in France, he worked in the restaurants of Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo (in Monaco) and Le Club de Cavalière (in Le Lavandou).

He is a keen collector of art and was friends with artists such as César Baldaccini, Arman and Théo Tobiasse, who exhibited their work in his restaurant.^[3]

Cooking style

Vergé is known for his contemporary cooking style, often named Cuisine of the Sun, a variation of Provençal cuisine. Together with Paul Bocuse, Gaston Lenôtre and others, he is credited with inventing nouvelle cuisine, although Bocuse claims that the term was invented by Henri Gault. The focus of Vergé's cooking style is on fresh, local ingredients, which is a departure from cuisine classique.

To promote his cooking style he founded l'École de Cuisine du Soleil Roger Vergé (located on the first floor of l'Amandier in Mougins).

Restaurants and other business ventures

Vergé opened his famous Moulin de Mougins in 1969 with his wife Denise. In 1977 he opened another restaurant in the historic heart of the village of Mougins: L’Amandier de Mougins^[4] which focused more on cuisine Niçoise.

In 1982, he opened the France Pavillion in Disneys Epcot Center together with Paul Bocuse and Gaston Lenôtre. The pavilion contained two restaurants: Les Chefs de France and Le Bistro de Paris (now called Monsieur Paul).^[5] He has owned restaurants all over the world.

In 2003, Roger Vergé retired from cooking and handed Le Moulin de Mougins over to Alain Llorca, previously of the Hotel Negresco in Nice.^[6]

He has owned La Cave de Mougins (a wine and spirits store) in Mougins (openend in 1992) and has owned "Les Boutiques de Moulin" in partnership with his wife Denise.

The brand Cuisine du Soleil has been used on oils, eaux-de-vie, herbs, teas and many other foodstuffs.

Students

Many well known chefs have worked in his kitchens. Among them David Bouley, Daniel Boulud, Jacques Chibois, Serge Chollet, Alain Ducasse, Denis Fétisson, Gilles Goujon, Hubert Keller, Patrick Lenôtre, Jacques Maximin, Lucia Pavin and Patrick Ponsaty.

Awards

In 1970 he was awarded his first Michelin star for the Moulin de Mougins
In 1972 he was awarded his second Michelin star for the Moulin de Mougins
In 1974 he was awarded his third Michelin star for the Moulin de Mougins
L'Amandier had two stars at one point.
In 1972 he was made Meilleur Ouvrier de France in the category Métier de bouche^[7]
In 1987 he was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honor^{[citation needed]}
In 1987 he was made Maître Cuisinier de France^[8]
He is an emeritus member of the Academie Culinaire de France and Gold Medal winner.
The first edition of the International Gastronomy Festival of Mougins, also known as Les Étoiles de Mougins was dedicated to Vergé in September 2006.^[9]
There are many restaurants named Cuisine du Soleil in his honor

Books

Vergé has written many books on food preparation. His most famous is probably:

Ma Cuisine du Soleil (1978), translated as Cuisine of the Sun

A series of books which are probably a word play on Lettres de mon moulin by Alphonse Daudet.

Les Fêtes de Mon Moulin (1993) published as "Entertaining in the French Style" in English.
Les Légumes de Mon Moulin (1994), translated as Roger Vergé's Vegetables in the French Style
Les Tables de Mon Moulin (1998) published as "New Entertaining in the French Style" in English.
Les Fruits de Mon Moulin (1999), translated as Roger Vergé's Cooking with Fruit

An interesting artifact is French Cuisine by Sony Music Special Products released in 1994. It is a CD with 12 classic French songs and a booklet with recipes by Vergé.

References

External links

Persondata
Name	Vergé, Roger
Alternative names
Short description	French chef
Date of birth	April 7, 1930
Place of birth	Commentry
Date of death
Place of death

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