Nouvelle Cuisine Pioneer Roger Vergé Passes Away

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Roger Vergé

Roger Vergé presenting artistically prepared dishes

Renowned French chef Roger Vergé passed away at his home in Mougins, France on June 5. He was 85. Vergé was best known as one of the founding fathers of the cooking style nouvelle cuisine (cuisine of the sun), a term coined by Henri Gault, Christian Millau and André Gayot at GaultMillau/GAYOT Publications in the early ’70s. The style takes elements of French cooking and emphasizes fresh and flavorful ingredients presented in simple but artfully prepared dishes. In addition to his culinary boldness in the kitchen, Vergé trained modern influential chefs such as Alain Ducasse and Daniel Boulud at his restaurants in Mougins, located near Cannes, France. They included Moulin de Mougins (the Mill at Mougins) and L’Amandier de Mougins (the Almond Tree at Mougins). He also established a cooking school, l’Ecole de Cuisine du Soleil Roger Vergé, and helped create two more restaurants in the France Pavilion at Disney World’s Epcot Center in Orlando, Florida — Les Chefs de France and Monsieur Paul (formerly Le Bistro de Paris). Plus, he penned many cookbooks, including “Cuisine of the Sun,” “Entertaining in the French Style” and “Roger Vergé’s Vegetables in the French Style.” Though his presence will be missed, his impact on the culinary world will long be remembered.

Photo courtesy Moulin de Mougins

Related Content: History of Nouvelle Cooking

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