French celebrity chef Joël Robuchon has passed away at the age of 73, his spokeswoman confirmed to CNN Monday.
A meteoric rise to the top
Gordon Ramsay paid tribute
Gordon Ramsay has paid an emotional tribute to celebrated chef Joël Robuchon after he died at the age of 73.
The French culinary superstar dubbed the ‘chef of the century’ was awarded the most Michelin stars in history – a record-breaking 31 across the course of his career.
He died after a long battle with cancer at his home in the Swiss city of Geneva.
He was Ramsay’s mentor and tutored him in Paris. The British chef is said to be the only person Robuchon has ever hurled a plate at.
Ramsay, himself the proud owner of 16 Michelin stars, took to Twitter to pay to tribute to his idol.
He wrote: “We’ve Lost The God Father of Michelin the most decorated Chef in the World, he kept all of us on our toes!
“Even when we were sleeping! Merci Chef, God Bless you’ll be missed.”

Talking to the Telegraph in 2013 the Frenchman remembered working with a young Gordon Ramsay and the infamous plate throwing incident.
“I remember it was a dish of langoustine ravioli,” he said.
“He hadn’t made it properly. I told him so and Gordon reacted in a very arrogant manner.
“Although he was very talented, his attitude had always been… difficult.
“At the end of every service, he used to fling his pan down on the stove and threaten to resign because I was so demanding.
“This time, it really got on my nerves and so I threw a plate at him.”
In his biography Humble Pie, Ramsay said that working for Robuchon was like working for the SAS and made Marco Pierre White look like a ‘pussycat’.