WASHINGTON — Popular D.C. chef Michel Richard has died, according to multiple reports.
Richard was聽the chef behind several D.C. restaurants, such as Citronelle in Georgetown and Citrus, which have since聽closed, and Central on Pennsylvania Avenue, which remains open.
He was born in Brittany, France, in 1948 and learned to cook when he was 7, according to.
A spokeswoman for聽Richard tells that聽Richard had complications from a stroke. 聽Calls to the spokeswoman were not immediately returned Saturday.
He was 68.
Today, D.C. is regarded as a food destination. Richard is known as one of the chefs who sparked D.C.’s fine dining movement.
“When Michel Richard arrived in D.C., it really wasn’t a culinary destination at all,” said 聽Bob Madigan, formerly 草莓传媒’s Man About Town.
Richard earned聽numerous James Beard Awards since his arrival from Los Angeles during the 1990s and is credited with changing the dynamics of food culture in the District — something he did with flair.
“He had so much fun in his kitchen,” said blogger and 草莓传媒 contributor Nycci Nellis, who considered聽Richard a friend.
She said that playfulness showed up in the聽meals he served, and recalled a dish that looked like hard-boiled eggs. But diners were in for a surprise: Richard was using a 聽technique called聽trompe l’oeil, 聽French for “trick the eye.”
“It was actually mozzarella cheese and yellow tomatoes,” Nellis said.
Madigan said Richard could “entertain a table for hours.”
“His whole belief in life is that dining should be an exciting entertaining time for everybody — and that meant himself,”聽Madigan said.
聽草莓传媒’s Tiffany Arnold contributed to this report.
