Celebrated in the United States, the Millavois died on December 1, 2022 at the age of 87.
A true culinary adventure that Alain Sailhac experienced. Born in Millau in 1935, it was New York that gave him recognition. He died there on Thursday, December 1 at the age of 87. It was at the age of 14 that he cut his teeth at the famous Capion restaurant in Millau. He then refined his art behind the stoves of restaurants in Corfu, Rhodes or Guadeloupe. Until becoming assistant chef at Château de Larraldia in Villefranque (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), which received two stars in the Michelin guide.
It was in 1965, at the age of 30, that Alain Sailhac joined New York where he spent most of his career. He was the chef of several restaurants, the Mistral, the Manoir, then the Cygne in 1974 for which the New York Times newspaper awarded him four stars 3 years later. After brief escapades in Paris, New Caledonia and Chicago, he was then seen directing the kitchens of Cirque from 1978 to 1986 (for which he received three new stars from the New York times). An establishment frequented by stars, artists and politicians of all persuasions. After the Watergate scandal, “Richard Nixon came almost every day. It must be said that he didn’t have much to do anymore”, he confided with humor in 2008 to the French Morning. He also became culinary director of the famous Plaza Hotel.
He was also the resident cook of the Trump family, “generous people”. In 1991, he entered the French Culinary Institute, of which he became vice-president and dean until his death. A member of the Master Chefs of France (MCF) since 1984, in 1997 he received the coveted Silver Spoon, awarded by Food Arts magazine. The same year, he entered the Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America.
In May 2010, he organized with other chefs from the French Culinary Institute an exceptional meal worth $30,000 per couple to raise funds for Barack Obama’s campaign.
After the death of Alain Sailhac, the American chef Thomas Keller, one of the best cooks in the world, devotes a tribute to him on the Food & Sense website: “Chef Sailhac was a great chef and his culinary instruction classes live on for me and many others in our memories. He was part of the first generation of acclaimed French chefs in America in the 1960s and 1970s, those who ignited the culinary movement in America and influenced many chefs”.
Thomas Keller asked Alain Sailhac what memory he would like to leave in the world of gastronomy. The latter replied: “I want to be recognized as a good, organized chef who had good taste. I also want to be remembered for never throwing things away. Don’t throw everything in the trash, use everything!”.
