Roger Vergé

There is always one in any group who stands out as being different, the nonconformist who seems almost not to belong. In this collection of chefs-patron, it is Roger Vergé. Among the others, there are those who may vary from the usual pattern in one particular. Thuilier did not become a professional chef until middle-age; Outhier’s parents had nothing to do with restaurants; Barrier learned much of his skill in private houses. On the whole, however, they follow a course which one might conclude was a set curriculum essential for a three-star chef—the childhood dream of being a chef, the training with one of half-a-dozen great chefs, the belonging to a particular region of France with its traditional produce and cuisine, the unwavering slog of dedication, the patient building-up of a reputation, the support of an equally patient wife, the eschewing of all improvisation and then the flair.