Gaston LeNôtre Scholarship, a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, works to raise much needed scholarship funds for deserving students who aspire to obtain a career in the culinary arts. To date, Gaston LeNôtre Scholarship Foundation has awarded over $600,000 in tuition scholarships to qualified students. Gaston LeNôtre Scholarship wants to ensure that the heritage of Chef Gaston LeNôtre lives on a
nd that his legend in gastronomy lives on by supporting “student-chefs” that strive for excellence. The Scholarship Endowment was renamed in 2009, as a tribute to the man who was hailed as the world’s most famous pastry chef and caterer of our era. Chef Gaston LeNôtre, who passed away on January 8, 2009 at the age of 88, taught his apprentices never to compromise on quality, to strive for perfection and to pass on the knowledge and skills of artisan craftsmanship to future generations. Not only did Chef Gaston LeNôtre revolutionize the art of catering and pastry making, he helped to define“nouvelle patisserie” and create light and delicate desserts through modern techniques. Renowned chefs Alain Ducasse, Michel Richard, and Pierre Herme to name a few studied under the master in Paris. In addition to his exquisite taste and professional “savoir faire”, Chef Gaston LeNôtre always challenged conventional wisdom by making bold moves. Among the list of his achievements are: the first chain of upscale pastry shops in Paris with a central kitchen, the first French professional re-training chef school, the first line of gourmet, frozen desserts distributed all over France, the first international French pastry-bakery shop franchise network and a line of recipe books translated into English, German, Danish and Japanese with more than a million copies sold. Chef Gaston LeNôtre was highly regarded for his warm personality, while still maintaining impeccable standards. It was his attention to detail which made him the official caterer of French presidents, prime ministers, foreign affairs ministers and corporations such as Christian Dior, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Hermes, Cartier, etc. He also catered for kings, and celebrities all over the world. In January 2009 in a press communiqué, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called Chef Gaston LeNôtre “one of the greatest masters of taste.”