Fernand Point (, 25 February 1897 – 4 March 1955) was a French chef and restaurateur and is considered to be the father of modern

French cuisine French cuisine () is the cooking traditions and practices from France. It has been influenced over the centuries by the many surrounding cultures of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, in addition to the food traditions of the re ...

. He founded the restaurant La Pyramide in Vienne near

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

Early life

He was born in Louhans,

Saône-et-Loire Saône-et-Loire (; Arpitan: ''Sona-et-Lêre'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the rivers Saône and Loire, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part. Saône-et-Loire is Bo ...

, France. His family kept an inn where he started cooking when he was ten. He moved to Paris and worked at some of the capital's best restaurants before working with Paul Bocuse's father at the in

Évian-les-Bains Évian-les-Bains (), or simply Évian ( frp, Èvian, , or ), is a commune in the northern part of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. In 2018, it had a population of 9,100. A high-market holida ...

Career

He had received his training with Foyot in Paris, the Bristol Hotel, Paris, the Majestic in Cannes, and the Royal Hotel in Évian-les-Bains. In 1922, he and his family moved to Vienne, a city in southeast France near Lyon, and opened a restaurant. Two years later his father left the restaurant to Fernand, who renamed it La Pyramide.

La Pyramide

Point opened Restaurant de la Pyramide when he was 24, about south of

in the town of Vienne. The restaurant was awarded three

Michelin stars The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

Ma Gastronomie

His book ''Ma Gastronomie'' was first published in French in 1969. The book includes 200 recipes based on Point's notes. The chef Charlie Trotter described Point's ''Ma Gastronomie'' as the most important cookbook.An Interview with Chef Charlie Trotter
Jennifer Iannolo - 15 Dec 2003

Publications

* Point, Fernand (2008) ''Ma Gastronomie'', Rookery Press.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Point, Fernand 1897 births 1955 deaths People from Louhans French chefs Head chefs of Michelin starred restaurants French restaurateurs