A Farewell to a Great Star, 3 actually...

I was gathering some ideas on a post about "Fusion" (Jazz-Rock) that I was planning to write during the week-end. However today, 20th of January, 2018, Paul Bocuse, the Pope of Gastronomy and the Chef of the Century passed away at the age of 91.

Paul Bocuse was born in Lyon in 1926. He comes from a family of chefs and restaurateurs that had  opened their first restaurant on the banks of the Saône river, eastern France in 1765. Michele Bocuse opened a café in an old mill in Collonges which was taken over by his son Philibert. Philibert's son Nicolas bought the nearby Hôtel de L'Abbaye and ran it with his three sons.  Nicolas' grand son Paul started his career as an apprentice to Fernand Point and then to Lucas Carton in the famous Parisian restaurant Lapérousse. In 1942, he began working at a restaurant close to his hometown and in 1959 he saved the family restaurant in Collonges from ruin and made into a gastronomic Mecca. Today his restaurant in Lyon, "Paul Bocuse" is the only restaurant that is honored with 3 Michelin stars for the last consecutive 53 years.

Paul Bocuse and his restaurant in Lyon

Paul Bocuse restaurant

He was one of the true pioneers of the "Nouvelle Cuisine" which is an approach known for its lightness and simplicity as well its emphasis on presentation compared to its predecessor "Cuisine Classique".

A fine example of Nouvelle Cuisine (source:Wikipedia)

He received his first Michelin star in 1961, second in 1962 and the final one in 1965. Only then he could start using the name "Bocuse" for his restaurant because the name was sold to someone else by his grandfather and he had to buy it from the owner. He earned the Legion D'Honneur medal in 1975 during the presidency of Valéry Giscard d’Estaing to whom he dedicated his signature dish "Soupe aux Truffes".

Soupe aux Truffes

He was also a good businessman. He opened his kitchen tools and fine foods line in 1979. In the same year he also began a vineyard business. He traveled to many countries for the promotion of the modern French cuisine and became a highly respected chef, especially in the USA and Japan.
In 1987, he initiated the "Bocuse D'Or", probably the most prestigious cooking competition in the world.

The ambassador of the French cuisine, Paul Bocuse, died today in Collonges-au-Mont-D'or, in the same room above his restaurant, in which he was born in 1926.

Apart from the great dishes that he created, he wrote many books on French cooking. His major two books are "Paul Bocuse's French Cooking"and "Bocuse a la Carte".

Here's a video from his restaurant.

I am sure he will be remembered as one of the greatest chefs of modern French cuisine.