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Alain Passard Wins Diners Club® Lifetime Achievement Award 2016

Each year, we pay homage to the ongoing achievements of chefs from around the world. Today, honored Chef Alain Passard of L’Arpège in Paris has been named the recipient of The Diners Club® Lifetime Achievement Award for 2016. This prestigious accolade is part of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards.

Commenting on Passard’s nomination, Sheryl Yasger, Vice President of Global Ad Brand and Marketing for Diners Club International, said: We are proud to recognize Alain Passard’s accomplishments and substantial influence in the world of fine dining through the Lifetime Achievement Award. It’s an honor for Diners Club International to share in his recognition through our partnership with The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and sponsorship of this award.”

Chef Passard, inspired by his grandmother’s legacy, started his culinary career at the age 15 under the tutelage of Michelin-starred Chef Michel Kéréver at the Le Lion d’Or in Liffré from 1971 to 1975.  Then alongside another two illustrious Michelin-starred Chefs, Alain Senderens at L’Archestratus in Paris and Gaston Boyer at La Chaumière where he mastered all aspects of classic French cuisine. At the age of 26, he earned the distinction of being the youngest chef to receive two Michelin Stars.  In 1986, Passard purchased his mentor, Alain Senderens’, L’Archestrate on the corner of rue de Varenne and renamed it L’Arpège, in tribute to his great passion for music.

The centerpiece of L’Arpège is the ‘grand cru’ of vegetables from his own gardens. In 2002, the restaurant’s first biodynamics garden was put together in Fillé sur Sarthe, later joined by two further gardens where the restaurant cultivates its own organic produce. Some of his standout dishes are: open stuffed cabbage, beetroot tartare with horseradish cream, sweet & sour garden vegetables and roasted lobster.

Chou Farci Ouvert | Open Stuffed Cabbage

William Drew, Group Editor of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, said, “We are delighted to be able to present this prestigious award to one of France’s most pioneering, influential and respected chefs. Alain Passard has led the way in making vegetables the star of the plate, creating extraordinary and highly individual dishes at his elegant 7th arrondissement restaurant. This award is recognition of his unique talent and creative spirit.”

Diners Club® Lifetime Achievement Award 2016 Winner Chef Alain Passard

As the recipient of The Diners Club® Lifetime Achievement Award, Alain Passard joins a long line of celebrated chefs from across the world who have been honored over the last decade, including:  Fergus Henderson (2014), Alain Ducasse (2013), Thomas Keller (2012) and Juan Mari Arzak (2011).

 



About The World’s 50 Best Restaurants & The Diners Club® Lifetime Achievement Award

The selection process

The Diners Club® Lifetime Achievement Award is voted for by almost 1,000 international restaurant industry experts and well-traveled gourmets who make up the Diners Club® World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy. None of the sponsors have any influence over the voting process.

The awards

At the ceremony, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2016 will be announced, culminating in the coveted award for The World’s Best Restaurant. Further award categories include The World’s Best Female Chef Award, The Ferrari Trento Art of Hospitality Award and The World’s Best Pastry Chef Award, sponsored by Cacao Barry®. The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards will be presented in the company of the world’s most influential restaurateurs, finest chefs and assembled international media.

Join Us

As the Official Financial Services Sponsor of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, Diners Club® will be on the ground in the days surrounding the awards ceremony on June 13th and we encourage you to follow along with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.