UPDATE 1-Chef Gaston Lenotre, legend of French pastry, dies

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By Estelle Shirbon

PARIS, Jan 8 (Reuters) - French pastry chef Gaston Lenotre, whose hugely successful catering business made him a household name in his country, died on Thursday at the age of 88 after a long illness, his company said.

Lenotre is widely credited with rejuvenating the world of patisserie by reducing the use of sugar and flour in favour of light mousses and creams with bold new fruit flavours.

"He succeeded, with his talent and his creativity, his rigour and his high standards, in raising patisserie to the rank of an art," President Nicolas Sarkozy said in a statement.

Paul Bocuse, one of France's most respected chefs, said the Lenotre signature on a chocolate cake was as prestigious as the Christian Dior name on a dress.

Born in Normandy in 1920, Lenotre developed a passion for baking early in life. He opened his first pastry shop in his native region in 1947 before moving to Paris 10 years later.

In 1964, he expanded into catering for receptions, a business that later flourished into an international chain of chic pastry and catering outlets. The brand is now present in 12 countries including the United States, Japan and Saudi Arabia.

Lenotre opened a school for pastry chefs in 1971 in the town of Plaisir just west of Paris, which still operates today. Fittingly, the name of the town means "pleasure" in French.