Henri Gault

Henri Gault
Born	Henri Gaudichon 4 November 1929 Pacy-sur-Eure, France
Died	9 July 2000 (age 70 years) Saint-Sulpice-en-Pareds, France
Burial place	Saint-Sulpice-en-Pareds
Occupation(s)	Journalist, writer, food critic
Website	https://www.gaultmillau.org/

Henri Gault (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃ʁi ɡo], 4 November 1929 - 9 July 2000) was a French food journalist. He was co-founder of the Gault Millau guides with Christian Millau, and invented the phrase nouvelle cuisine. He later stated that he regretted it.^[1]

Biography

Gault was born Henri Gaudichon on 4 November 1929 in Pacy-sur-Eure, France.^[2] Following in his father's foot steps, he started his studies in medicine. In 1956 he became a reporter for the French newspapers Paris-Presse and L'Intransigeant.^[3]

In 1961 he began working for Paris Presse mainly covering local politics. The then editor of the paper, Christian Millau, asked Gault to try writing restaurant reviews. Given the success of the reviews, Gault and Millau compiled the reviews into a book called Guide Julliard. An American version of the book was later published by Odyssey Press.^[4]

In 1969 they started the monthly magazine GaultMillau which would eventually be published as separate editions for different regions of France. The first volume of the GaultMillau guide was published in 1972.^[5]

In 1973, Gault and Millau invented the term nouvelle cuisine in an article where they discussed the 10 commandments of the nouvelle cuisine:^[6]

• Do not overcook
• You will use only high quality, fresh products
• You will simplify your menu
• You will not be resolutely modernist
• You will strive to learn from new techniques
• You will avoid marinating, aging, fermenting etc.
• You will eliminate rich sauces
• You won’t ignore nutrition
• You won’t fake your presentations
• You will be inventive^[7]

Gault died from a heart attack on 9 July 2000 in Saint-Sulpice-en-Pareds at the age of 71.^[8]

Works

• Guide Julliard de Bruxelles, 1965
• Julliard Guide to New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, San Francisco and Montréal, 1967
• Juilliard Guide to the Areas Around Paris, 1966
• Guide Julliard de Paris, 1967
• La Tunisie (In collaboration with Yves Bridault), 1968
• À voir et à manger (To see and eat), 1963
• Guide Julliard to Ireland (In collaboration with Nicole and Jean-Luc de Rudder; prefaced by Francis Ambrière)
• Gourmet guide to France, 1970
• Guide France (Guide to France), 1984
• Guide Italie (Guide to Italy), 1984
• The World Guide Julliard, 1968
• Julliard Guide to Europe, 1964
• The guide to foreign restaurants in Paris, 1995

See also

• Gault Millau
• Christian Millau
• Nouvelle cuisine
• Haut cuisine

References

1. The Guardian Obituary
2. Pichard, Jean-Pierre (12 August 2013). Normands célèbres (in French). Editions Edilivre. ISBN 978-2-332-57406-0.
3. "Henri Gault, la révolution dans les assiettes". Le Monde.fr (in French). 11 July 2000. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
4. Prial, Frank J. (12 July 2000). "Henri Gault, a Champion of Nouvelle Cuisine, Dies at 71". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
5. Johnson, Douglas (14 July 2000). "Henri Gault". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
6. "History". Gault & Millau International. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
7. "Le Nouveau Guide Gault-Millau" (PDF). Gault-Millau (54).
8. Archives, L. A. Times (11 July 2000). "Henri Gault; Co-Founder of GaultMillau Guide". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 May 2024.

Further reading

• Gault, Henri, "The best of Italy"
• Millau, Christian, "The best of Los Angeles"