Roger André Fessaguet, renowned chef, educator and former co-owner of Manhattan’s acclaimed La Caravelle and Le Poulailler restaurants, died in Damariscotta on April 2 at the age of 82.
Mr. Fessaguet was born in Villefranche sur Saone, the Beaujolais region of France, on Aug. 4, 1931. His parents, André and Renée Fessaguet, expected their son to become an engineer like his father or a lawyer. Mr. Fessaguet stubbornly pursued a career in the restaurant business, a decision he never regretted. His early culinary training was in Provence. Through a family connection he was introduced to Henri Soule, who owned the famed Le Pavilion restaurant in New York City. He soon immigrated to America.
Selling numerous possessions to finance his passage in 1949, he arrived in New York at age 17 abroad a liberty ship that carried 17 passengers. Mr. Fessaguet attended high school at night to complete his education. To compensate for his lack of formal education he became a life-long reader. With the exception of two years in the U.S. Marine Corps (1952 to 1954), Mr. Fessaguet worked at fabled haute cuisine restaurant Le Pavilion from 1949 until 1960.
During the Korean War Mr. Fessaguet was inducted by the U.S. Army. During his physical exam, an Army First Sergeant “volunteered” Mr. Fessaguet for the Marine Corps. Instead of serving in Korea, Mr. Fessaquet was assigned shipboard duty in the Mediterranean with the U.S. Navy’s 6th Fleet. Thus began his devotion to the U.S. Marine Corps.
In 1960, Fred Decré and Robert Meyzen opened the La Caravelle restaurant for which Roger Fessaguet was its executive chef.
From the beginning La Caravelle attracted national and international acclaim and the celebrities of the day. Politicians, artists, movie stars, celebrities all made their way to La Caravelle to enjoy its elegant cuisine. Joseph Kennedy, Sr. was a regular guest. When John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1960, Mr. Fessaguet was recommended and trained René Verdon as the White House chef at the request of Jacqueline Kennedy. JFK loved Mr. Fessaguet’s chicken in champagne sauce, which he made so often for the Kennedys’ airplane trips that La Caravelle re-named it Poularde Maison Blanche.
In 1984, the restaurant’s ownership passed to Mr. Fessaguet and André and Rita Jammet.
Mr. Fessaguet also was the President and co-owner of Le Poulailler in Lincoln Center from 1967 until it was sold in 1981. It was very popular with opera performers including Pavarotti and many symphony orchestra conductors after performances.
In 1991, Mr. Fessaguet received the highest civilian and military award of the French government, Chevalier (Knight) in the Order of the Legion d’Honneur. Roger Fessaguet was the first member of his profession to receive this distinction in the United States. He had earlier received distinction as Chevalier in both the Order of Mérite National’ (1976) and Mérite Agricole (1971).
Mr. Fessaguet received many other professional awards and distinctions.
Mr. Fessaguet was the founder and editor of Toques Blanches, the only French culinary publication ever published in the United States. After retirement from La Caravelle, Mr. Fessaguet began a new career as an instructor in culinary arts and dining room service at Boston University and at The French Culinary Institute in New York.
In addition to food, wine and the Marine Corps, Mr. Fessaguet’s other great passion was his beloved cottage, Finistere, on Maine’s rock bound coast. His Maine cottage provided the perfect sanctuary from the stressful existence of the highly competitive New York restaurant business. He left his mark on the area with his donation to the Long Cove Point Association of a parcel of land leading to the water. The water access, thereafter named “Fessaguet Landing,” allowed safe and direct water access for the benefit of the association.
His first wife, Anne Marie (Annick) Corre, died in 1985 after 26 years of happy marriage. They enjoyed many years in New York and Maine. His marriage to Miriam Showalter in 1991 ended in divorce in 2010. He is survived by his cousin Madeleine Joye of Chassieu, France. Mr. Fessaguet spent the past 20 years in West Palm Beach, Fla., returning to his beloved Chamberlain when he could. He returned to Maine in June 2013.
Mr. Fessaguet will be remembered as one of a handful of French entrepreneurs and legendary chefs who opened Manhattan haute cuisine restaurants in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, offering classical cuisine in upscale settings with the service and amenities expected by luminaries in politics, business, society and entertainment who frequented the establishments. He made a gift of the culinary memorabilia of his long career to Johnson & Wales University, R.I.
There will be a wake from 5-7 p.m., Tues., April 8 at the Strong-Hancock Funeral Home, 612 Main St., Damariscotta. A funeral mass will be held at 11 a.m., Wed., April 9 at St. Patrick’s Church in Newcastle. He will be laid to rest in the Flushing Cemetery in New York, on Fri., April 11.
If desired, a donation in his memory may be made to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, 825 College Blvd., Suite 102, PMB 609, Oceanside, CA 92057.
Condolences, and messages for the family, may be expressed by visiting www.StrongHancock.com.
Arrangements are under the direction and care of the Strong-Hancock Funeral Home, 612 Main St., Damariscotta.
