Celebrity chefs gather at Andre Saltner Memorial Museum

Influential French chef Andre Saltner, who passed away in January at the age of 92, was nothing to celebrate him on a Saturday afternoon in Manhattan, but was warmly remembered by his family and friends.

The 16-piece orchestra, located above the cathedral-sized ballroom at 583 Park Avenue, welcomed guests into gold leaf chairs with Handel and Bach filling the air, with yellow and apricot flowers lining the stage. A sea of ​​chefs' white people, under a giant crystal chandelier, gathered to honor the man behind the famous restaurant, Lutes.

Daniel Bouleaude, a fellow Frenchman to Mr. Saltner and chef of Daniel, a Michelin-starred restaurant, sat next to Thomas Keller, himself and French laundry. Restaurant Danny Meyer, behind Gramercy Tavern and Shake Shack, sat in succession right behind them, with celebrity chef Tom Colicchio sitting nearby. Jack Pepin, 89, was attended by one of Saltner's few contemporaries, wearing the chef's uniform in the afternoon.

The concentration of star power in cooking should require a designated survivor.

“Luteis was not a flashy restaurant,” Boulede said fondly, reminiscing about the cozy townhouse restaurant on East 50th Avenue, where Saltner reached its French cuisine destination from its 1961 opening until its 2004 closure.

Saltner began as the restaurant's head chef and bought his partner Andre Sarmain in 1973. He was constantly present until he sold it to Ark Restaurant in 1994, becoming dean of the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan.

Saltner and his wife Simone, who passed away in 2016, live on top of the restaurant and portrayed Henry Kissinger, Marilyn Monroe and Mick Jagger. At the memorial, long-standing patrons elicited OOH and AHS from the crowd in a slideshow prediction featuring photographs of notes with famous notes.

The big screen projected photographs of Saltner throughout his life. From youth in the Alsace region of France to his years at Lutes, and later as an educator and leader, many had eight years of fellowship, Maryvonne Gasparini. His strange, gallbladder smile remains the same.

“We haven't yet found any photos that Andre didn't look happy,” said Glen W. Dopp, a longtime friend of Saltner. Pastry chefs and chocolatiers Dopp and Jacques Torres met Saltner at the age of 16 while working as cleaners at the New York building, and is now the chef himself.

Campos spoke about how he expressed his desire to be a chef. Saltner took the teenager under his wing and arranged for him to eventually attend culinary school. He is currently the executive chef of Mr. Boulud's Centurion New York restaurant.

“He had no expectations,” Campos said of Saltner's generosity.

Anne Van Devold, Mr. Saltner's nie, was one of the few families who lovingly remembered her famous “Tonton.” “The lack of children was a source of sadness, but you were a lot of fathers,” she said.

Bill Pete, executive chef at Green's Tavern and chef at Lutes for 15 years, had knee surgery in the morning and shared an anecdote of his old boss who appears at evening dinner later that day.

“Andre was the example,” he said. “He never took off.”

As guests descended to a low level for lunch, the band that induced Mr. Saltner's Alsacean roots performed the French national anthem, “Lamar Sailers.”

Almost not typical post-service retransmissions, various stations boasted delicacies such as smoked mushrooms by Jean-George Vongelichten, bacon tarte flambe by Gabriel Croiser, and bonbons by Mr. Torres.

As relatively young chefs, like Keller and Bouleaude, chatted with the elder politicians in the room, and plates from each food station were delivered, Pepin's table in the far corner became a center of gravity as a relatively young chef.

“Andre will be very unhappy with all the waste,” Pepin said with a sarcastic smile. Mr. Saltner's economic trends were previously recalled by Mr. DOPF. It has been reported that it could wisely save wine corks and balance unstable dining tables, or burn the burned light bulbs in the freezer, which could bring back cold.

In the room of people known as celebrity chefs, Saltner was a prototype.

“He was very much,” Boulede said. “But he didn't like to get attention. He didn't want that. Andre was humbled.”

Mr. Bulldo described his late friend's food as honest.

“Andre was someone who didn't need caviar, truffles or foie gras to prove he could cook,” he said before explaining to taste some of his favorite dishes.

“It's simple and perfect,” he added. “He made New York his village and they all came to his house.”