André Gayot was a French journalist. After a career in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

he moved into culinary criticism and produced restaurant guidebooks known as the "Gayot Guides."

Career

Journalist

Gayot started his career in 1949 at the ORTF, producing a program for a young audience while pursuing his studies. He became a political columnist in 1957, working for the daily newspaper ''La Liberté du Massif Central'' and as an editor for ''

Paris-Presse ''Paris-Presse'' was a French newspaper published in Paris between 1944 and 1970. It was created by Philippe Barres (1896-1975), with Ève Curie (1904-2007), daughter of Marie Curie. They ran the newspaper until 1949.Claude Bellanger, ''Histoire ...

.'' He joined the weekly magazine ''

Jours de France ''Jours de France'' is a French news magazine which was created and belonged to French industrialist Marcel Dassault. It succeeded to an earlier magazine called ''Semaine de France'' and was originally intended as a competitor to ''Paris Match''. ...

'' in 1958.

Work in Africa, The Americas, and Asia

In 1960, Gayot was appointed director of information of

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesAntananarivo Antananarivo (French language, French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra ("An ...

in 1962, he directed it until 1967. That same year, Gayot created the weekly ''France Antilles Spécial Dimanche'' while living in

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

. In 1968, he was in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

, leading the creation of the newspaper ''Le Soleil'' and of ''Les Nouvelles Imprimeries du Sénégal'', which paved the way to the plurality and opening of information in French West Africa. Gayot was active in Canada, where he renewed and relaunched the world's oldest French-language daily newspaper, ''L'Evangéline''. He brought his expertise to the local press in Vietnam, Egypt, Mauretania, Zaïre (Republic of Congo), Burundi, and Iran.

Culinary guides

In 1969, with his friends

Henri Gault Henri Gault (, 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", though later he claimed to regret it.The Guardian '' ...

and

Christian Millau Christian Dubois-Millot, pen name Christian Millau (, 30 December 1928 – 5 August 2017), was a French food critic and author. Born in Paris, he began his career as a journalist in the "interior policy" department of ''Le Monde'' newspaper. In 1 ...

, Gayot created the monthly magazine ''Le Nouveau Guide'', which went against the culinary traditions of the time by promoting artistically prepared food, new cooking techniques, and fresh ingredients. The three also founded the '' Gault Millau'' guide, and coined and promoted the term ''

nouvelle cuisine ''Nouvelle cuisine'' (; ) is an approach to cooking and food presentation in French cuisine. In contrast to cuisine classique, an older form of haute cuisine, nouvelle cuisine is characterized by lighter, more delicate dishes and an increased e ...

''. In the 1980s and 1990s, Gayot published a series of restaurant guidebooks in the U.S., known as the Gault-Millau name or ''Gayot Guides''. The guidebooks rated and highlighted restaurants deemed to be among the best in their region, with reviews discussing ''décor'', service, ambiance, and wine lists, with an emphasis on French cuisine. After 2000, his guides were published exclusively under the name Gayot, following a disagreement with the new owners of the French Gault-Millau guides. In 1983, Gayot founded the monthly magazine ''Prévention Santé'' in Paris'','' in conjunction with Rodale, Inc. in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, United States. With his son Alain and daughter Sophie, he launched the websit
gayot.com
devoted to

gastronomy Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between food and culture, the art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, the cooking styles of particular regions, and the science of good eating. One who is well versed in gastr ...

, tourism, and lifestyle.

Recognition

On 7 May 1979,

Léopold Sédar Senghor Léopold Sédar Senghor (; ; 9 October 1906 – 20 December 2001) was a Senegalese poet, politician and cultural theorist who was the first president of Senegal (1960–80). Ideologically an African socialist, he was the major theoretician o ...

, President of the

Republic of Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

, presented Gayot with the distinction of Knight of the Legion of Honour, in his name and that of the President of the French Republic

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, , ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981. After serving as Minister of Finance under prime ...

, in the presence of

Michel Debré Michel Jean-Pierre Debré (; 15 January 1912 – 2 August 1996) was the first Prime Minister of the French Fifth Republic. He is considered the "father" of the current Constitution of France. He served under President Charles de Gaulle from 195 ...

, former French prime minister, for his humanitarian and cultural actions for Africa.''Le Nouveau Guide GaultMillau'', June 1979 On 27 April 2005,

Jean-David Levitte Jean-David Levitte (born 14 June 1946) is a French diplomat who was France's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2000 to 2002 and Ambassador to the United States from 2002 to 2007. He was also a diplomatic advisor and sherpa to p ...

, the Ambassador of France in Washington, D.C., awarded Gayot the rank of

Officer of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

''"for exceptional services rendered to the freedom of press and promotion of the friendship between nations".'' Gayot was an officer in the

National Order of the Lion ("One People, One Goal, One Faith") , eligibility = , criteria = , status = Active , founder = , head_title = Grand Master , head = Macky Sall , head2_title = Grand Chancellor , head2 ...

of Senegal, the national

Order of the Niger Nigeria became an independent country on 1 October 1960 and in 1963 became the Federal Republic of Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Repu ...

, and the Order of Comoros.

Death

Gayot died in Paris on 5 October 2019.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gayot, Andre French food writers 1929 births Living people Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Place of birth missing (living people) Restaurant critics French male non-fiction writers