Benoît Violier (French pronunciation: [bənwa vjɔlje]; 22 August 1971 – 31 January 2016) was a French-Swiss chef .
Violier owned the three Michelin star Restaurant de l'Hôtel de Ville in a suburb of Lausanne, Switzerland from 2012 to his death. The establishment topped the first La Liste in December 2015.
Prosper Montagné (pronounced [pʁɔspɛʁ mɔ̃taɲe]; 14 November 1865 – 22 April 1948) was one of the most renowned French chefs of the Belle Époque and author of many books and articles on food, cooking, and gastronomy, notably Larousse Gastronomique (1938), an encyclopedic dictionary of the French culinary arts. While Montagné was once as famous as his friend Auguste Escoffier, and was one of the most influential French chefs of the early twentieth century, his fame has faded somewhat. In the 1920s, Montagné, Escoffier, and Philéas Gilbert—their close friend and collaborator, and an acclaimed chef and writer in his own right—were the French chefs and culinary writers esteemed above others by many French journalists and writers. After Montagné's death, the chef and author Alfred Guérot's description of the troika as the "celebrated contemporary culinary trinity: Auguste Escoffier, the father; Philéas Gilbert, the son; Prosper Montagné, the spirit" reflects the reverence in which all three were held by the French culinary community.
Régis Marcon (born 14 June 1956) is a French chef and "Maître Restaurateur". He is the owner of the restaurant Le Clos des Cimes located in Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid in the Haute-Loire, awarded three stars by the Guide Michelin since 2005.
Georges Blanc (French pronunciation: [ʒɔʁʒ blɑ̃]; born 2 January 1943 in Bourg-en-Bresse in the department of Ain) is a French chef and restaurateur, with three Michelin stars and four toques from the guide Gault et Millau.
Paul François Pierre Bocuse (French pronunciation: [pɔl bɔkyz]; 11 February 1926 – 20 January 2018) was a French chef based in Lyon known for the high quality of his restaurants and his innovative approaches to cuisine. Dubbed "the pope of gastronomy", he was affectionately nicknamed Monsieur Paul (Mister Paul). The Bocuse d'Or, a biennial world chef championship, bears his name.
A student of Eugénie Brazier, he was one of the most prominent chefs associated with the nouvelle cuisine, which is less opulent and calorific than the traditional cuisine classique, as well as stresses the importance of fresh ingredients of the highest quality. Bocuse claimed that Henri Gault first used the term, nouvelle cuisine, to describe food prepared by Bocuse and other top chefs for the maiden flight of the Concorde airliner in 1969.In popular culture, Bocuse inspired the character of chef Auguste Gusteau in the 2007 animated film Ratatouille, directed by Brad Bird, the plot line of which was also influenced by fellow chef Bernard Loiseau's life story.
After completing his formal education, Bocuse enrolled in a culinary apprenticeship in Lyon, a city renowned for its culinary traditions. Under the guidance of some of the most skilled and experienced chefs in France, he honed his skills and gained a deep understanding of the art and science of French cuisine.
Alain Ducasse (French: [alɛ̃ dykas]; born 13 September 1956) is a French-born Monégasque chef. He operates a number of restaurants including Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester which holds three stars (the top rating) in the Michelin Guide.
Michel Roux, OBE ([mi.ʃɛl ʁu]; 19 April 1941 – 11 March 2020), also known as Michel Roux Snr., was a French chef and restaurateur working in Britain. Along with his brother Albert, he opened Le Gavroche, which subsequently became the first three Michelin starred restaurant in Britain and The Waterside Inn, which was the first restaurant outside France to hold three stars for 25 years.
Roux followed his brother into becoming a pastry chef and again to England in order to open their first restaurant. The pair were described as the "godfathers of modern restaurant cuisine in the UK" and Roux was inducted into several French orders, and received two lifetime achievement awards from different publications. He was decorated during a period of National Service for France during the 1960s.
He founded the Roux Brothers Scholarship along with Albert in 1984, and worked as a consultant for companies such as British Airways and Celebrity Cruises over the years. After he and his brother split the business in 1986, Roux took the Waterside Inn, which he handed over to his son, Alain, in 2002. He remained an active food writer and appeared on television shows such as Saturday Kitchen, MasterChef and the Roux family-centric series The Roux Legacy, and on the Woman's Hour programme on BBC Radio 4.
Ludovic Lefebvre (French pronunciation: [lydo ləfɛvʁ]; born 18 April 1971) is a Michelin-star French chef, restaurateur, author, and television personality. He trained in France for 12 years before moving to Los Angeles. He was awarded the prestigious Forbes Travel Guide Five Star Award at two different restaurants, L'Orangerie in 1999 and 2000 and Bastide in 2006.
He went on to create LudoBites, a multi-city restaurant tour, followed by opening two restaurants in Los Angeles: Trois Mec and Petit Trois. LA Weekly named Trois Mec Best New Restaurant Los Angeles in 2013, Los Angeles' Best Restaurant in 2014 and 2016, and Ludo Best Chef in 2015.