French pastry chef Gaston Lenotre dies at 88

Gaston Lenotre, considered one of France's best-ever pastry-makers, died Thursday. He was 88.

Lenotre died at his home in the Sologne region, south of Paris, after a long illness, the company that bears his name said without elaborating.

President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a statement praising Lenotre as the man who transformed making pastries into an art, becoming "one of the greatest masters of sweets."

Internationally renowned chef Paul Bocuse said that Lenotre was a "pastry genius."

"He was a complete man in his field who always sought perfection. He knew how to do everything," Bocuse told France-Info radio.

Lenotre, who is from the Normandy region, opened his first Paris pastry shop in 1957. Three years later he expanded into catering.

Success came fast and he quickly diversified, expanding into catering in 1960, organizing receptions from start to finish. Today, the Lenotre company is present around the globe with 35 shops in 12 countries stretching from Japan to Kuwait and Dubai to the U.S.

In 1971, he founded a cooking school. The hotel group Accor bought the Lenotre company in 1985.

Lenotre is credited with taking a new approach to pastry-making, notably making it lighter and less sugary.

Pierre Herme, a noted French pastry chef who apprenticed under Lenotre, said that Lenotre can be considered the father of modern-day pastries.

"The pastries of today would not be what they are without Gaston Lenotre, who has left a formidable heritage for all pastry chefs of the world," he said.

No details on funeral arrangements or survivors were immediately available.