Founder of Maison Lenôtre, Gaston Lenôtre turned pastry-making into a high-quality business model: from the first Paris boutique in 1957 to the École Lenôtre (1971) and “Les Chefs de France” at Epcot (1982). His light, scientific approach shaped generations of chefs and pastry chefs.
Born on 28 May 1920 in Saint-Nicolas-du-Bosc, Normandy, to cook parents, Lenôtre apprenticed in Pont-Audemer and opened his first shop in Bernay in 1947. Ten years later he bought a boutique in Rue d’Auteuil, Paris XVI: airy sponges, reduced sugar and rapid freezing made it a symbol of a “nouvelle pâtisserie”.
In 1964 he entered large-scale catering, pioneering blast-freezing to serve banquets at consistent quality. The École Lenôtre, founded in Plaisir (Yvelines) in 1971, became the first private pastry academy; alumni include Pierre Hermé, Michel Richard and Alain Ducasse.
Expansion followed: the restaurant Le Pré Catelan in the Bois de Boulogne, retail outlets in a dozen countries, and “Les Chefs de France” at Epcot, Florida (1982) with Paul Bocuse and Roger Vergé, introducing haute cuisine to mainstream America. In 1985 he sold the company to Accor, remaining honorary president.
Named an Officer of the Légion d’honneur in 1984, Lenôtre published best-selling manuals (Desserts et pâtisseries, 1978) and championed high-quality cocoa. His mantra—“pâtisserie is architecture”—focused on structure, premium ingredients and lightness; he codified modern mousse cakes such as the Opera. Lenôtre died on 8 January 2009 in Sennely at 88; today Maison Lenôtre continues with boutiques, school and catering, preserving his innovative legacy.
