Almost twenty years ago I went to Frédy Girardet where he reputedly sold 125 recipes between 1982 and 1996 when he retired and sold his restaurant with three stars.

I was there on a spring lunch, and enjoyed a lunch that was superb. His cuisine was at the top of his game and he could do very little wrong. His cuisine truly classical, roast guinea fowl with Indian spices, lettuce wrapped with sweetbreads that were awesome, or roast rack of venison pictured above.

His food was based on French classical cuisine and he favored butter and cream more than olive oil, as many French chefs did and still do. He had a reputation of being the best in the French part of Switzerland as he sourced the finest meats, poultry and seafood. He sourced the very best and never compromised on quality.

His father owned a small restaurant, a bistro-type establishment, in the town of Crissier. The change in his life came when he was young and was asked by his father to travel to Burgundy on a wine-buying trip. At that time, they went to the Troisgros restaurant, and Mr. Girardet said his experience there bordered on the spiritual.He is quoted as saying in one meal, my vision, my entire concept of what cooking was all about was altered
irrevocably”.

That lunch the chef walked over to the table and asked politely, “how was lunch, every was okay” and I responded “no”. He was shocked and taken aback. He asked, “what was the problem sir”, and I replied, “Monsieur Giradet the same sauce was seen twice at the same seating”. He knew what I meant and he did not charge for the lunch, a gentlemen and the consummate professional.

The photo above was taken from his cook book: recipes from a master of French cuisine.