Michel Michaud (born 1946) is a French chef who brought French cuisine to Denmark in 1971. Gaining wide acclaim for gourmet cuisine in restaurants across the country, he moved to Ruth's Hotel in Skagen in 2004.

Biography

Born in

Cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cogn ...

in the French department of

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, and also the r ...

, at the age of 15 he trained as a chef at

Tarbes Tarbes (; Gascon language, Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of southwestern France. It is ...

. He went on to work in

Saintes Saint is the designation of a holy person. Saint(s) may also refer to: Places Saint *Le Saint, Brittany, France Saints *Saints, Luton, Bedfordshire, England *Saints, Seine-et-Marne, France *Saints-en-Puisaye, formerly Saints, France * The Sa ...

Cahors Cahors (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the western part of Southern France. It is the smallest prefecture among the 13 departments that constitute the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Region. The capital and main city of t ...

and at

Avallon Avallon () is a commune in the Burgundian department of Yonne, in France. Name Avallon, Latin ''Aballō'', ablative ''Aballone'', is ultimately derived from Gaulish ''*Aballū'', oblique ''*Aballon-'' meaning "Apple-tree (place)" or "(plac ...

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

where he joined the Michelin-starred restaurant Hostellerie de la Poste."Michel Michaud"
, Ruths Hotel. Retrieved 7 November 2013. He arrived in Denmark in 1971, where he worked for

Sven and Lene Grønlykke Sven Grønlykke (1927–1998) and Lene Grønlykke (18 October 1933 – 28 November 1990) was a Danish husband-and-wife partnership who started out in film-making but are today most known for their achievements as culinary entrepreneurs. They founde ...

, first in Falsled Kro on

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

and then at Kong Hans Kælder in Copenhagen. Michaud brought French cuisine to Denmark, impacting trends in gastronomy. After a spell in Cologne and at La Table des Cordeliers in

Condom A condom is a sheath-shaped Barrier contraception, barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a Sexually transmitted disease, sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both external condo ...

, he returned to Denmark, where he worked at Søllerød Kro, earning his first

Michelin star The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few restaurants in certain geographic ...

in 1986, then at Restaurant Gammel Åbyhøj in

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

and Restaurant Marie Louise in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

before beginning his term in Skagen in 2004. He has been widely acclaimed for his dishes in Ruths Brasserie which always meet the highest standards. In November 2013, it was announced that Michaud who arrived at Ruth's Hotel in 2004 would retire at the end of the year. He will continue to live in Skagen with his wife Annick and will go on producing his famous combinations of herbs and his Gâteau Marcel.Peter Witten, "Ruths Hotel får ny chefkok"
, ''Nordjyske.dk''. Retrieved 7 November 2013.

Awards

In addition to receiving Michelin stars for his restaurants in 1982, 1986 and 1987, Michaud has received an array of prestigious awards including the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

and the French

Ordre National du Mérite The (; ) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ...

(both in 2008).

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Michaud, Michel Danish chefs Danish restaurateurs French chefs French restaurateurs People from Skagen People from Cognac, France Head chefs of Michelin-starred restaurants Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Commanders of the Ordre national du Mérite French emigrants to Denmark 1946 births Living people