The sauce was likely first created by the chef Collinet , the inventor of puffed potatoes ( pommes de terre soufflées ) , and served at the 1836 opening of Le Pavillon Henri IV , a restaurant at Saint-Germain-en-Laye , not far from Paris .
Although a similar recipe was published in 1818 , Béarnaise sauce was likely first created by the chef Collinet , the inventor of puffed potatoes ( French : pommes de terre soufflées ) , and served at the 1836 opening of Le Pavillon Henri IV , a restaurant at Saint-Germain-en-Laye , not far from Paris .