The chef, who has died aged 73, had a decades-long career that saw him open restaurants across the world. Robuchon owned restaurants in cities across the world including Paris, Monaco, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, Tokyo and Bangkok.

But it could have been quite different. He initially wanted to be a priest. Luckily for food-lovers everywhere, Robuchon discovered a passion for cooking while working alongside the nuns as a student at a seminary, and at the age of 15 entered his first kitchen as an apprentice.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Robuchon died from cancer in Switzerland on Monday, according to Le Figaro newspaper, more than a year after being treated for a pancreatic tumour.

Benjamin Griveaux, a spokesman for the French government, said Robuchon would continue to "inspire the younger generation of chefs."

One of Robuchon's most famous and beloved recipes was for the humble mashed potato - pommes purée - which, rumour has it, is a 50-50 mix of potato and butter. His dedication to creating the world's best mashed potato is perhaps not surprising.

Robuchon was renowned for his perfectionism and for using few ingredients, keeping preparation simple and moving away from the excesses of French nouvelle cuisine - a healthier form of cooking.

"The older I get the more I realise the truth is: the simpler the food, the more exceptional it can be," he told Business Insider in 2014.

"I never try to marry more than three flavours in one dish. I like walking into a kitchen and knowing that the dishes are identifiable and the ingredients with them easy to detect."

Robuchon was born in Poitiers in 1945, the son of a mason and a stay-at-home mother. Robuchon made his name in the early 1980s after opening his restaurant Jamie at the age of 36. Within a year in had won a Michelin Star. Over his career, Robuchon would amass 31 such starts - the most of any chef, ever. Less than a decade later, in 1989, he was named "Chef of the Century" by Michlin's rival restaurant guide, Gault Millau.