Roger Vergé

Roger Vergé (7 April 1930 – 5 June 2015) was a French chef and restaurateur. He is considered one of the greatest chefs of his time. The Gault Millau described him as "the very incarnation of the great French chef for foreigners".

Roger Vergé was born 7 April 1930 in Commentry, which is a commune in the department of Allier in central France.

His father was a blacksmith. He said he was inspired to learn cooking from his aunt Célestine, to whom he dedicated many of his books. He began work under Alexis Chanier at restaurant Le Bourbonnais in his aunt's hometown, and trained at the Tour d'Argent and the Plaza Athénée, before leaving France to work in Africa. He worked in the restaurant of Mansour de Casablanca (in Morocco), L'Oasis (in Algeria) and in Kenya. Back in Europe, he worked in the restaurants of Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo (in Monaco) and Le Club de Cavalière (in Le Lavandou, France).

He was a keen collector of art and was friends with artists such as César Baldaccini, Arman and Théo Tobiasse, who exhibited their work in his restaurant.

Vergé died of complications from diabetes on 5 June 2015, aged 85.

Vergé was known for his contemporary cooking style, often named cuisine du soleil, a variation of Provençal cuisine. Together with Paul Bocuse, Gaston Lenôtre (1920–2009) and others, he is credited with inventing nouvelle cuisine, although Bocuse says that the term was invented by Henri Gault. The focus of Vergé's cooking style was on fresh, local ingredients, in a departure from traditional cuisine classique.