He worked in Paris, Corfu, Rhodes, and Guadeloupe before becoming sous chef at the Michelin Guide two-star Château de Larraldia.
Stints at several Paris hotels and restaurants and as executive chef at l'Hôtel Royal in New Caledonia and Le Perroquet in Chicago followed.
He served as executive chef from 1978 through 1986 at the legendary Le Cirque restaurant on Manhattan's Upper East Side, earning three stars in 1984 from The New York Times.
Sailhac was a member of numerous prestigious culinary organizations, including the Maîtres Cuisiniers de France and the Société Culinaire Philanthropique.
[3] On 13 May 2010, Sailhac, along with other chefs from The French Culinary Institute (now known as The International Culinary Center), Jacques Pepin, Jacques Torres and André Soltner, prepared a $30,000-per-couple dinner for President Barack Obama's fund-raiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee at Manhattan's St. Regis Hotel.