There are tributes pouring out to Chef Michel Richard as news of his passing on August 13th spreads. Michel was a joyful genius, full of humor and passion. The obituaries and the remembrances of those who knew him are in agreement on these points. In an industry based on hospitality and showmanship, he was gifted beyond measure.

As a friend of D’Artagnan, and of course, our founder and owner, Ariane, he will be remembered fondly.

“Michel Richard was a pastry chef with an inferiority complex next to chefs de cuisine like Jean-Louis Palladin. He got tired of being called ‘Le pâtissier,’ and started his own restaurants using pastry techniques and his unbelievable creativity.  I remember meals at Citrus, and then Citronelle, rivaling the best restaurants in the world, with molecular cuisine dishes before the term existed. And Michel, at the end of the dinner, coming with a smile, checking how amazed we were. The joke was on us! Michel, I am going to miss you!”      –  Ariane

Read this Tom Sietsema appreciation in the Washington Post to see how happy Michel was in the kitchen.  Explore his recipes, which he shared because he wanted us all to be happy in the kitchen.

And so we raise a glass in his memory, and head back to the kitchen – the happiest place on earth.

Enjoy these videos, and witness a little of his joie de vivre.