Collinet was the head chef at the Henri IV hotel outside of Paris, where he was widely credited as the creator of Béarnaise sauce shortly following the Second French Revolution. Collinet reportedly developed the recipe in 1836 for the opening of his new restaurant Le Pavilion Henri IV. Using the traditional recipe for Hollandaise sauce, he replaced lemon juice with white wine vinegar, and added shallots, chervil, and tarragon. Collinet named the sauce in honor of Béarn, the region of France from which his restaurant's namesake Henry IV originated.