Celebrated in the United States, Millavois died on December 1, 2022 at the age of 87.
A true culinary adventure experienced by Alain Sailhac. Born in Millau in 1935, it was New York that gave him the recognition. He died there on Thursday 1 December at the age of 87. It was at the age of 14 that he cut his teeth in the famous Capion restaurant in Millau. He then refined his art behind the stove of restaurants in Corfu, Rhodes or Guadeloupe. Until he became assistant cook at the Château de Larraldia in Villefranque (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), which received two stars from 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 chef of several restaurants, the Mistral, the Manoir, then the Cygne in 1974 for which the New York Times newspaper gave him four stars 3 years later. After brief escapades in Paris, New Caledonia and Chicago, he was later seen running the kitchens of Cirque from 1978 to 1986 (for which he received three new stars from the New York Times). A place 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 humorously in 2008 to French Morning. He also became the culinary director of the famous Plaza Hotel.
He was also the resident cook for the Trump family, “generous people.” In 1991, he entered the French Culinary Institute, where he became vice president and principal 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 and other chefs from the French Culinary Institute organized an exceptional meal worth $30,000 per couple to raise money for the Barack Obama campaign.
After the death of Alain Sailhac, the American chef Thomas Keller, one of the best cooks in the world, dedicates a tribute to him on the Food & Sense website: “Chef Sailhac was a great chef and his cooking lessons 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 60s and 70s, those who started 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 and tasteful chef. I also want to be remembered for never throwing things away. Don’t throw everything in the trash, use everything!”.
