Rene Lasserre, 93; Revered Chef Was a Top Name in Haute Cuisine

Rene Lasserre, a chef who played host to such celebrities as Salvador Dali and Robert de Niro in his eponymous and renowned restaurant in Paris, has died, colleagues said. He was 93.

Lasserre died at his home in Morsang-sur-Seine, south of Paris, on Wednesday night, said Louis Canfailla, his business partner for 37 years. A cause of death was not announced.

In 1949, at just 36, Lasserre earned his first star in the venerable Michelin guide to French restaurants, and he went on to become one of the top names in French haute cuisine.

The recipe for his duck a l’orange has been emulated worldwide. Another longtime favorite -- Pigeon Andre Malraux, named for the French writer -- featured the bird stuffed with cockscombs, bacon, shallots and mushrooms.

He was praised for infusing the restaurant’s food and decor with whimsy, especially with a movable roof that pulls back to reveal the sky -- an engineering marvel when it was unveiled in the 1950s. Lasserre also was known for greeting diners personally.

In the latest edition of the Michelin guide, Lasserre earned two of three possible stars. Only 26 of 3,690 restaurants cited in the 2006 guide won the coveted top mark indicating “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey,” as opposed to the two-star designation of “excellent cooking, worth a detour.”

The restaurant was downgraded from three to two in 1984, and Lasserre, still involved in the daily operation, was mystified by the decision.

Born on Nov. 12, 1912, Lasserre left his native Bearn region in France’s Basque country at age 12 and worked his way up through Paris’ restaurants before opening his own in 1942, near the Champs Elysees in a location he once described as “a kind of garage.”

By the time the top French chefs of the day celebrated his 90th birthday in 2002, he was called no less than “our spiritual father” by Gerard Boyer, a former employee at Lasserre who had graduated to his own three-star establishment.